


Fathers and Sons

by thalaivi



Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, Male Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 59,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25244251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thalaivi/pseuds/thalaivi
Summary: Family is not defined by genes, it is built and maintained through loveEric discovers the secrets of his birth and struggles to accept that he was not born to Pavel Delko. Luckily his family - by blood and in the lab - and his love for a certain redhead help him work through it
Relationships: Calleigh Duquesne/Tim Speedle, Horatio Caine/Eric Delko, Marisol Delko-Caine/ Michael Travers
Kudos: 19





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The events of Season 7 seen through slash goggles
> 
> Horatio/ Eric, minor Calleigh/ Speed. Spoilers for entire season 7. Some events from other seasons maybe mentioned
> 
> The quote in the summary is made by a real person. I found it through a google search and borrowed it

“How did you pull this off H?”

“It wasn’t me”

“What’s he doin’ here?”

“He’s here for you”

“Who was that on the phone?”

“That was the lab. They were calling about some prints I lifted yesterday”

“Listen before when I was on the phone, you asked me who I was talking to, it’s my father Sharova”

“I just want you to please be careful, ok. He is connected to so many dangerous people”

“The silver car that fled the scene. It was Eric”

“Excuse me”

“It was Eric I shot at him”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“Horatio it’s Speed, call me the minute you get this”

“Why would he be driving a criminal to…”

“Calleigh shut up”, Timothy ‘Speed’ Speedle of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab snapped harshly at the lab’s ballistics expert causing her jaw to almost drop. The next second though she recovered and her eyes turned cold

“Excuse me?”, she snapped right back. “Eric was working with a man who is a…”

“Known associate of the Russian mob”. Calleigh closed her eyes at the smug voice from behind her even as Speed shot her a glare

“And of course the fact that you got no proof of…”

“Are you doubting Ms. Duquesne’s eyesight Officer Speedle? Or her credibility?”

Pinned in place by Calleigh’s look, Speed hesitated. He knew he had hesitated a second too long though as he saw her beautiful face fall. Her eyes turned sadder than when she had thought she had hit one of her best friends. He swore he could literally feel her heart break and cursed himself for it, but he also knew he had Eric’s life to think about

“Look Stetler”, he said his gaze shifting to the top of her head ostensibly to talk to the man who was hell bent on making Horatio’s reign at the lab a nightmare. However they both knew he was avoiding those knowing green eyes. “I don’t doubt what Calleigh saw. But right now we do not have all the facts and until we do…”. He was never so glad when his phone rang. He listened for a whole minute before he hung up. “Choppers found the silver car in the Glades. They have one body in it”, he informed the two of them before he stalked off to his bike

Approaching the vehicle that had according to Ryan’s BOLO contained a fleeing Eric ‘Delektorsky’ Delko and a known associate of the Russian mob, Horatio ‘H’ Caine, Lt. of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab fought to contain the panic he felt at the potential loss of said young man.

“Where’s Eric?”

“I don’t know”. Horatio swore those three words had his heart stop

“What do you mean you don’t know? You left the armoury with him”, Detective Frank Tripp a long time friend and ally and one of the people who knew what Eric actually meant to Horatio asked his own gun trained on Eric’s biological father Alexander Sharova

“You’re covered in blood my friend”

“It’s not my blood”

“Whose blood is it? Is it Eric’s? Was he hit? Did I hit him?”

“He lost control of the car”

Rage was the only thing that kept Horatio from losing it completely. “If anything’s happened to him you’re gonna get what your friends got”, he threatened Sharova before he allowed Tripp to arrest him

“Horatio I shot him”. The stark confession from Calleigh had Horatio close his eyes as he resisted the urge to snap at her. Instead focussing on the footsteps in front of him he watched as Speed emerged from where he had been searching further inside the Glades

“Why would Eric drive out here?”, Frank asked them both and saw Speed inexplicably enough smile faintly. 

“Because he knows this place well. We both do”, he admitted. “When… whenever… after a bad case we… um… depending on who takes the worst hit, we either take his truck or my bike out here for a drive”, he elaborated at the look the detective shot him

“You come to the Glades voluntarily?”

Despite the situation, Speed couldn’t help the faint chuckle that left his lips. Horatio smiled as well at the flabbergasted question from the Texan before he sobered

“Show me what you have?”, he asked Speed who swallowed his own worry and guided his friend out of there

Kneeling at the shore in front of the flowing river Horatio noticed the footsteps and the disturbed ground before he stood up. He knew what he was seeing could be interpreted one of two ways. Either Eric had kept his mind and was still staggering around on dry land or… 

“What if he collapsed in the water”

“He’s out here Calleigh and we’re gonna find him”, he responded sounding a lot more confident than he felt

“He knows this part of the Glades well”, Speed added reassuringly not for her but for Horatio. “Plus he’s a fantastic swimmer”

“Yeah but if he’s hit his head…”

“Please stop Cal”, Speed said as he saw Horatio close his eyes in pain. “And you”, he added to his boss. “None of this is on you”

“I started this Tim. If it wasn’t for me…”

“If he hadn’t gone digging…”, Speed countered. “You did the only thing you could to keep him in our lives”

“I could have married him legally”, Horatio snapped.

The gasp from Calleigh had both men wincing. “What did you say?”, she asked disbelief colouring her tone. “What do you mean married him… legally?”

“Look Cal that’s not important”, Speed said trying to divert her attention. “We need to find Eric”

“Legally?”, Calleigh repeated ignoring him. “You said legally, which actually means…”. She stopped not wanting to give voice to her thoughts

“Which means Eric and I were married in a small ceremony ten months ago”, Horatio confirmed as he removed the ring always present in his pocket close to his heart and slipped it on his left ring finger


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In all of my fics Lost Son never happened and Speed never dies which means it's Marisol, Eric hallucinates in S6E4

Ten Months earlier

“Are we sure we wanna do this tonight?”, Eric ‘Delko’ Delektorsky asked his lover Horatio ‘H’ Caine, Lt. of the Miami-Dade Crime lab as they stepped out of his vehicle in front of the house he shared with the redhead. “I mean”, he elaborated when Horatio shot him a tentative, questioning look. “It’s not… I don’t mean us H, Speedle’s known about us for ages, I mean him and Calleigh. They seem to be finally getting somewhere. I think he wanted to ask her out”

“You mean they started getting somewhere during her kidnapping and now they’ve cooled off again ever since my supposed death”

“You know that’s not on you right?”, Eric asked ignoring his own pain at his lover’s deception a couple of months ago. “And Speedle and Calleigh? How the hell did you know anyway?”

Horatio as expected smirked. “You mean I wasn’t going to notice the fact that my ballistics expert and my trace expert and second in command disappeared for almost a day”

“Careful Horatio”, Eric said his grin becoming genuine as he picked up the bag of groceries. “Or I might just become jealous of you and Speedle again”

“So you weren’t jealous of me and Calleigh?”, Horatio asked mock-thoughtfully and Eric groaned

“Hey I can’t help the fact that you’re the sexiest guy in Miami. I mean too many people wannna steal you away from me”, he teased his lover and was rewarded with a blush. He laughed out loud. Horatio becoming flustered was an extremely rare event and he was sure he was one of the very few people who got to see it

“Let’s um…” Horatio had to clear his throat. “Let’s get inside shall we. We have perishables”

“Yeah sure H, whatever you say”, Eric said his grin not faltering as he followed his lover in

“You guys are gonna do this now?” Speed’s question so similar to Eric’s that afternoon had Horatio grinning this time, because he had heard the awe to it

“Yes Tim. We are”, Eric said as he placed the basket of rolls in front of Speed’s plate. “And yes, I want you as my best man”, he added before Speed could ask him that as well again.

For once Speed met his friend’s eyes steadily with a genuine smile. “It would be my honour Eric”, he said sincerely and Eric was the one turning red now

“Anyways, I think H is gonna ask Frank but he thinks he’s being mysterious”. Horatio cleared his throat to remind his lover he was right there and Eric rolled his eyes. 

“I was thinking all of us could use a couple of weeks. I’ve already asked for swing to cover for us”, Horatio said making Speed smile and Eric whoop delightfully

“Something’s bothering you”, Horatio said later that night after Speed had left. Eric who had brought one of his file’s home and was trying to complete his paperwork in the library stopped writing but didn’t look up. He wasn’t too surprised Horatio had caught on to the fact that he wasn’t focussing mentally. The only question had been when his redhead would approach him about it and he seemed to have picked tonight of all nights for it

He hesitated as he met his redhead’s eyes and gave a resigned sigh. Horatio’s face had told him to please not lie and in any case he was incapable of deception with his lover. He always had been even before Horatio had become his lover. It wasn’t that he had wanted to hide things from Horatio. It was just that secret was painful for him. Horatio understood as he moved further inside. Pulling a chair from the desk nearby he sat down close to Eric and took his hand in his. “You know I love you yes?”, he asked the younger man who nodded

“Never doubted it H, not even for a second”. Taking a deep breath he pulled Horatio to his feet. “C’mon”, he said as he went to the kitchen and poured himself a drink for liquid courage. “You want something?”, he asked trying to preserve an illusion of normalcy and wasn’t too surprised when his lover shook his head no. Horatio wasn’t a complete teetotaller but he rarely drank at home. “Yeah ok”, he said absent-mindedly as he washed his glass and moved to the living room. Horatio, his worry through the roof followed him then stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop pacing

“Are… are you… sick… or?”

“What no”, Eric exclaimed. “No H, I swear it’s nothing like that. I’m not… I’m not leaving you Horatio. I never wanna”

“Then what is it Eric?”

“My… my parents… they lied to me”

“About?”

“Everything”, Eric said cryptically. Horatio spotting the pain in his eyes pulled him into a bone crushing hug

“Eric’s right”, Speed confirmed tiredly as he stepped into Horatio’s office at about eight P.M. the next day. “It is a fake”, he added as he handed the redhead the document. Horatio wasn’t too surprised at the answer. His lover was one of the best criminalists around after all and would have been able to work out a document’s authenticity even without Cynthia’s expertise. “Are we sure… are we sure we should pursue this… I mean… It’s not as if….”

“You think we’re borrowing trouble?”, Horatio asked

“Yeah I mean… it’s been a long time. We don’t know why his parents did this. Maybe we should just leave this alone”

“Eric’s parents came over here from Cuba the same year and month he was born correct?”, Horatio asked and Speed not knowing where he was going with this nodded. “If he had been born here as his birth certificate says then it would have been issued here in the US. Even if he had been born outside a hospital and immediately on a boat, ICE would have seen to his papers”

“So you think he was born in Cuba”

“I’m certain he was born in Cuba, Tim, however… the policy of wet foot dry foot applies to all Cuban citizens arriving here by boat. The only reason his parents would have ever have to fake his birth certificate is…”

“If they weren’t his parents”, Speed finished for him wide-eyed. “Eric knows doesn’t he”

Horatio nodded his eyes sad. “It didn’t take him a long time to figure it out”

Horatio arrived home by ten P.M. surprised to see a sleeping Eric on the couch. As far as he knew his lover had gone out with Calleigh and Wolfe, and when he was out with someone who didn’t know where he really lived, he usually spent the night at his own condo to avoid suspicion. Pushing aside his rambling thoughts Horatio deposited his gun and badge in the safe then walked over to the couch. Kneeling beside his still sleeping lover he ran a hand through the young man’s now short hair. Eric leant into the touch and opened his eyes. “Hey”, he mumbled sleepily as he pulled Horatio down for a kiss. “Paperwork?”

“Speed and I got talking”, Horatio said as he sat down in front of him on the coffee table. “You need to grow it back”, he added as he ran a hand over Eric’s head again missing the soft curls

Eric huffed out a laugh as he pulled Horatio in for another kiss. “I see what you mean”, he said as his own fingers tangled in the redhead’s wavy hair. “This is certainly sexy”

Horatio rolled his eyes. “You my love have a one track mind”, he said then countered his own words by pulling the Cuban in for another heated kiss. 

Eric smiled mischievously against his lips. “We could of course stop what we’re doing and talk about the lab… or Calleigh’s now on again crush on Speedle, or I think Ryan’s making eyes at Valera… Then there’s Stetler”. Horatio stopped him by kissing him again and this time his tongue demanded entrance into Eric’s mouth. By the time the kiss ended Eric seemed to have lost all rational thought and not because they had both been close to passing out from lack of oxygen

“That’s the last time you mention Stetler’s name in that whisper”

“Wha’?”, was the only thing a dazed Eric could manage

“Everything ok Delko?”, Ryan asked Eric a few days later at their latest crime scene when he saw the Cuban look all around himself

“What? Yeah everything’s fine, why wouldn’t it be?”, Eric said quickly when he realised what he’d been doing. Ryan didn’t seem to believe a word of what he had said but before he could annoy Eric Speed and Natalia arrived

“Tell me you feel it too”, Eric mumbled as he stepped out on to the pool deck not sure if he wanted Horatio to answer in the positive or the negative

“Unfortunately, yes”, Horatio agreed, and his hopes were dashed. Not that he had wanted to be labelled crazy or paranoid – and he was wary of the fact that his brain could give out ever since his hallucinations of Marisol – but for the last few days it was as if there were unfriendly eyes on him, everywhere he went. “Someone’s watching us”, Horatio said, and Eric’s heart beat double time at the certainty in his voice

“Do we know what this is about?”, Natalia asked Eric as they gathered in the layout room two days later

Eric who knew why they were there shook his head, thankful his poker face always worked with Natalia and Ryan. “Maybe we’re all getting a raise”, he speculated with a smirk and received an eye-roll

“Or maybe you’re being named boss of this lab Delko”, Speed who had just entered with Calleigh teased making him shudder

“I definitely don’t want that job”, he said faintly not even wanting to think of the possibility making the others laugh… laughter which trailed away when Horatio and Frank walked in together

“We don’t have any active cases at least in the immediate future right?”, Ryan asked them both tone worried making Eric laugh and Speed grumble something about jinxing it

Horatio whose emotions were unreadable to everyone except for Eric and maybe Speed on a normal day kept his face carefully blank however when Ryan turned paler he couldn’t hold his amusement in any longer and grinned. “Frank and I wanted to give you the good news together”

“So we are getting a raise?”, Calleigh said with a grin however Horatio shook his head

“Even better ma’am, we… all of us including Detective Tripp that is, have time off for two weeks”

“You’re kidding”, Natalia exclaimed a very wide grin on her face

“Nope. All of us are getting’ out of here this evenin’ and not looking back not unless Florida’s burnin’”

“Frank”, Eric whined. “Do not jinx it”

“You know you can’t get more cliched than Las Vegas for a wedding spot right?”, Speed grumbled as he set his bags besides Eric’s own at the airport

“Hello to you too sunshine”, Eric teased but his grin lacked the usual brightness

“What the hell’s got you in such a lousy mood?”

“Apart from the fact that I gotta spend ten hours away from Horatio and beside you. I mean”, - Eric looked around them to make sure no one was paying them any attention before he continued – “The wedding’s not even for the next three days”

“Yeah well Frank and I decided that Horatio shouldn’t see his bride before the wedding day”

“Wait just a damn minute Speedle”, Eric said with a glare. “What do you mean I can’t see him for the next three days?” Then the rest of what his friend had said penetrated. “Hey, I’m so not acting like a chic before her wedding”

“Yeah well don’t let Calleigh or Natalia hear you say that”. Eric’s face turned horrified when he thought of all the ways the two women could have made his life miserable for that comment prompting Speed to laugh again. “Oh here. I almost forgot”, he said handing Eric an envelope

“What’s this?”, Eric asked him curiously then gasped as he saw just what was inside. “This for real?” Speed laughed again at the astonished tone

“Yeah, since Frank and I decided to separate you two the least we could do was make sure your flight was comfortable”

“Yeah but first class. Thanks Tim”, Eric said sincerely, and Speed rolled his eyes

“Just don’t expect a wedding present”

“As long as I get a bachelor party”

Reaching the first class compartment and his seat Eric was genuinely surprised to find the person occupying the one beside him. “H?”, he exclaimed then laughed happily as Horatio turned to him just as stunned. The redhead’s face shifted into a smile when he realised what his two friends had done

“You guys shouldn’t have”, he said

“Hell yeah Horatio we should have”, Frank retorted. “I mean you might not have whined the whole trip like Delko here. But you’d have been just as miserable”

“Thank you Frank”, Horatio said softly and with another smile ignoring Eric’s mock protests

“Yeah well, I know we already said this but don’t expect a wedding present. Speedle and I’ll see you guys at LV”, he added as they both moved back

“What? You guys are in coach”. 

Speed chuckled. “C’mon Delko. Neither of us are rich enough to finance four first class tickets”

But Horatio looked just as upset as his lover. “It’s a six hour flight gentlemen. We can share”, he suggested

Even Eric who had a look of longing on his face nodded. “H is right. It’s only fair if we do it like this”

“Not a chance kid”, Speed said with another smile. “We’ll be fine in coach. Nope H, for once neither of us are listening to you”

“Tim”

“No”, Speed repeated firmly. “We’ll see you guys in about six hours”

Both Horatio and Eric, who were immensely thankful for Frank and Speed’s early wedding present spent the entire flight, their hands in each others, interspersed with gentle touches and kisses, never taking anything too far. Despite the fact that the two men had been dating for well over three years now, their passion and sexual appetite was just as strong as it had been the first time they had kissed. But Eric had to admit though as much as he enjoyed the sex with Horatio, moments like these where they could just touch without any expectations were his favourites. That and sitting with his head against Horatio’s strong shoulder in a comfortable silence as all of his worries faded away

“You know we could have gone out with Frank and H right?”, Eric who was waiting with Speed outside their hotel for Warwick Brown the night shift CSI from Vegas and some of his friends asked

“Bachelor party Delko”, Speed reminded him. “’Sides I thought the poor guy could use a break from you for a night”, he teased earning himself a punch to his shoulder. “Asshole”, he grumbled even if he had barely felt it making Eric laugh. His laughter faded away the next second and Speed’s face shifted into a frown. “What is it?”, he asked softly at the serious look his normally cheerful friend sported

“Nothin’”, Eric said but his hands drumming a beat across the top pocket of his slacks made him out to be a liar. “It’s just…”, he continued when Speed shot him a look that said “Spill”. “You think I’m doing the right thing?”

Speed who had never thought he’d have to talk his nauseatingly sentimental friend into a wedding looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “What does your heart say?”, he asked at last

Eric thought about his answer for a whole minute. “That H is the one for me”, he admitted. “I mean… I want him in my life forever Tim but…”

“So what’s bothering you? Your birth certificate”, he realised answering his own question a second later. “Look kid, as important as that piece of paper is it doesn’t define your identity. And Horatio loves you for who you are, not for whose kid you are”

“H told you”, Eric realised with a wince

“He told me his theories yes. And all I can say is your parents must have had a damn good reason for doing what they did”

“I know you trust them Tim. And I wanna too. But they lied to me”

“Haven’t you never lied to them?”, Speed asked him reasonably. “Parents… at least the good ones like yours… they only wanna protect their kids. You have amazing parents Eric. Talk to them. Before it’s too late”

Eric spotting Warwick’s car changed the subject and Speed let him get away with it

“Dearly beloved, we’re gathered here today…”

“You know if you want one of these all you gotta do is ask Calleigh out right?”, Frank who had been standing next to an extremely hung over Speed whispered when he saw the trace expert look around the small chapel wistfully. 

“I will hurt you”, Speed threatened in a low growl taking care to not let the priest hear him.

A short time later for Speed’s sanity and the priest was asking for the rings and pronouncing the couple married. “You may now kiss each other”. Speed wasn’t the only one who laughed when Eric and Horatio instead of following the instructions just looked into each other’s eyes. The next second though and Speed’s look turned wistful again when he swore he saw the love flow between his two friends and wondered not for the first time if he’d ever get that lucky

“Here”, Speed said as he handed the happy couple an envelope a few hours later. “This is from all of us”, he said indicating himself, Frank, Warwick Brown, Catherine Willows, Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders who had all attended the wedding. Eric ripping into the envelope found an upgrade to the hotel room they’d been staying in for the next couple of days

“The honeymoon suite”, he said with a laugh. “That is so cliched Tim, especially from you”

Horatio though more of a gentlemen thanked all of them. “I know, I know Horatio”, Catherine said. “You wanna get rid of us so you can begin your wedding night”, she teased making the two of them blush to the roots of their hair. But they all even Speed and Frank who had a late night flight back to Miami did leave a few minutes later after having dropped the couple off at the entrance to their suite

Horatio, not even waiting for Eric to open the door pulled him into a deep kiss making him moan, especially when Eric could feel just how aroused his new husband was through his slacks. His new husband, he realised pulling back with a gentle smile as he wrapped his arms around Horatio’s neck. Horatio and himself were married, married with promises to be there for each other for eternity and he knew Horatio never broke a promise


	3. Chapter 2

“In here mijo”, Carmen Delko shouted when she heard her son call out for her from the living room. Smiling when she realised Eric wasn’t alone but was accompanied by Horatio who she thought of more and more each day as her son-in-law even if the kids hadn’t made it official yet, she directed them both to the kitchen table and set plates filled with food in front of them ignoring their claims of having eaten already. As far she was concerned they were both too thin, end of story

Eric chuckled when he spotted the mixture of disbelief and annoyance Horatio always had on his face when his mother proclaimed he needed fattening up. Particularly when he knew his redhead believed he was overweight. Eric who found the few extra bits of fat on Horatio endearing just blew him a quick kiss making his husband blush

Carmen spotting her son’s antics shot him a mock glare and rolled her eyes even as she asked them about their trip to Vegas. Eric who had told his family where he was going but not why exchanged a tentative glance with Horatio before he turned to his mother with a deep breath. “There’s something we need to tell you mami”, he admitted and his serious tone gave her pause. “Horatio and I”, he continued when she didn’t say anything. “We… um… wegotmarriedinVegas”, he finished in a rush

It took Carmen a minute to decipher his words, particularly since they had been in English but when she did her face saddened. “But why?”, she asked close to tears making the couple feel about three feet tall. “Why would you do this away from your family?”

It wasn’t that Eric or Horatio hadn’t wanted to tell his family or didn’t want them there at the best moment of his life. Despite the fact that he was upset with his parents neither he nor his husband were petty enough to hold a grudge against them. It was just that his parents were devout Catholics who went to church every Sunday. And even if they had been nothing but supportive of their relationship, neither man had wanted to put them on the spot by asking them to be present at a wedding which their church would have never approved of

“Oh mijo”, Carmen who had read the answer on her son’s face said as she cupped his cheek. “You know you’re more important to us than any beliefs we hold right”

“It’s just that… Lo siento mama”, Eric said slipping into Spanish subconsciously as he was wont to do if he was upset. “I never wanted to hurt you”

“I know mijo, I know”, Carmen said forgiving him almost immediately. “Your papi will be angry though”, she added worried and Eric bit his bottom lip

“I’ll speak to Pavel”, Horatio who had remained silent till now offered. “Explain the circumstances”

“That might just work”, Eric admitted knowing his father was fond of Horatio and saw the redhead as his son even if the age difference between them was less than ten years

Pavel who arrived home a few minutes later was as predicted angry and refusing to even look at Eric he stalked out of the kitchen. “Wish me luck”, Horatio muttered gripping Eric’s shoulder reassuringly

A few minutes later and the Russian and the New Yorker came back in and while Pavel wasn’t smiling his simmering temper seemed to have come back down to normal. “You will let us celebrate”, he ordered Eric who gave in quickly 

“Boy am I glad that’s over”, Eric who was tired beyond measure especially after the weeklong drive back from Vegas said as they entered the house

“You ok?”, Horatio asked concerned at the defeated tone to his voice

“Yeah… I… yeah”, the younger man fumbled then sighed. “I’m gonna go take a shower”, he muttered and Horatio who knew Eric just wanted some space let him go

“You know you guys really didn’t have to do this right?”, Frank who had been invited to a thank you lunch to Horatio and Eric’s place with Speed asked even as he drooled at the assortment of food the two men had laid out

“It wasn’t any trouble Frank”, Horatio said with a smile

“Yeah ’sides H and I owe you”, Eric added

“So you decide to thank us by poisoning us”, Speed teased

“Hey”, Eric protested with a laugh. “H cooked this”

“Ouch”, Speed mumbled when Horatio shot him a glare

And then Eric’s therapist would lose her daughter. Horatio couldn’t help but look in on his husband in the fingerprint lab later that day. “I’m fine H”, Eric said before he could even begin to ask but Horatio heard the sadness underneath the firm tone

“You know you don’t have to work this case right?”

Eric was shaking his head even before he could finish his sentence. “Like I told Calleigh, it’s time to give something back”

Two days later and the case was going nowhere fast. It wasn’t that they didn’t have any suspects. Thanks to Tara, they had a description of their murder weapon and had collected prints and trace from the scene. The problem was that the suspects they did have had either alibied out or had no motive to kill Chelsea. Eric who had by his own admission to Calleigh known absolutely nothing about his therapist till now was finding out she was just as human as him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that given the enormous amount of respect he had for her

Their break in the case would come when Horatio would interview Cory Dashell to confirm his father’s alibi and notice the scissors on Mrs. Dashell’s work bench. But tragedy would strike the family again when Rachel Marsh would be murdered as well ostensibly by her son

Horatio who had come back from the scene with an extremely frustrated Eric hadn’t even let him log the evidence in before he was dragged to the redhead’s office. “Hand over everything to Speed. You’re off this case”, he ordered tone leaving no room for argument

“H you can’t just… I have to work this case”

“No Eric you don’t. You shouldn’t have worked Chelsea’s case”

“I haven’t broken protocol till now”, Eric said feeling betrayed. “Not once”

“Yes but you do want to look in her patient files don’t you”. Eric who had suggested his theory to Horatio on the ride over regretted his words but not his idea

“You and I both know the killer is in there H”

“Eric when… when I interviewed Dr. Marsh two days ago”, Horatio began his own tone showing the pain he normally felt for the victims. “I asked her about possible suspects. And… and while she… she refused to give me the details of her patients. She had taken an oath Eric and she was willing to respect it even when she knew it could help us identify her daughter’s murderer”. Eric who understood the point Horatio was making even if he didn’t want to acknowledge it turned his head away. “Doctor patient confidentiality doesn’t go away at the doctor’s death Eric and we have no warrant. In fact I’m not sure we’ll get one”

“So what we just let her killer walk free?”, Eric asked him voice low and full of anger

“No”, Horatio said his determination never wavering. “I promise you Eric, we will find out who killed Doctor Marsh, but not like this. Not by betraying the trust she placed in us”

Once more it would be Tara’s autopsy and the bullet that would help them identify Nick Burnham who had been as Speed had said dumb enough to register the gun. After that it had been a simple matter of getting a search warrant. Horatio who still hadn’t wanted Eric anywhere near the case interviewed the suspect with Speed while the Cuban watched from the two way glass

Eric, knowing he needed to blow off some steam on one of the rare occasions he was liable to bring a fight that began at work home, went for a run on the track in the athletic center near CSI. Logically he knew Horatio was right. His judgement he knew whilst it hadn’t been compromised hadn’t been on point either. He also knew Horatio was right about the patient files. After all he had seen Dr. Marsh’s distress when she had believed them to be lost. But even with all this… He couldn’t help but feel upset with his husband. Lost in thought he never noticed the pair of eyes watching him

“Hey you ok?”, Calleigh’s cheerful voice had Horatio look up from his ever present paperwork a smile on his face

“I’m fine ma’am. You?” Not surprised when she saw right past the mask he wore for the rest of the world he gave in with a sigh when she just remained standing in front of his desk patiently. “I had to order Eric off the case”, he admitted knowing gossip would have travelled around the lab already

“C’mon Horatio”, Calleigh protested. “Eric adores you and looks up to you. He’ll understand why you did what you did”

What Eric did was love him, not hero worship him but since Calleigh didn’t know that, he couldn’t exactly tell her this was one of those rare occasions where their personal and professional lives had clashed “He… he’s had a rough year”, he said instead. “But I’m sure he’ll bounce back”

“Yes he will and he has people who care about him right? Plus I think he’s got his eye on our new M.E.”, she teased as always amused by the fact that Eric never seemed to grow up. “Horatio I was joking”, she added quickly when she saw the tight look on his face. “Eric hasn’t behaved unprofessionally with anyone in the lab”

“I know that Calleigh”, Horatio agreed forcing himself to sound normal and not give into the unexpected flash of jealousy erupting in him. “Eric wouldn’t do anything to compromise the integrity of this lab”, he said and the certainty in his tone caused her to relax. “And shouldn’t you be leaving ma’am?” Calleigh smiled again though this one was more tentative and he understood. His lips curled upward amused and she laughed

“I volunteered”, she said quickly knowing Horatio didn’t believe her at all. “What we both know it’s easier for me to write the report for both of us than try to interpret Tim’s chicken scratch”

“Of course I’m sure”, Horatio said tone solicitous causing her to roll her eyes

After finding out that Eric had practically stormed out of the lab at the end of his shift from a somewhat scared Ryan who had been unlucky enough to meet the Cuban in the locker, Speed headed for the one spot he knew his friend went to after a bad day if he wanted to blow off steam. Spotting the car in the lot confirmed his theory but when Speed went near it he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. 

He had thought Eric and Horatio were being paranoid when Eric had mentioned in passing about eyes on him but now… Speed couldn’t help but move his hand to his holster and look around the lot. His gut told him though that whoever or whatever it had been the danger was now past but he still couldn’t help but make sure he was completely alone before he went to look for his wayward friend

It took Eric a whole minute to spot the lone figure of Tim Speedle sitting on the bottom step beside the track. It took another whole lap for him to approach his friend though. It wasn’t that he didn’t wanna see Speed. As mad as he was he knew it wasn’t Tim’s fault he’d been taken off the case. But he also knew Speed would poke and ask him about what was bothering him. The look on Speed’s face as he completed the lap told him he was aware of Eric’s thoughts. Eric rolled his eyes collected his towel and water and sat down next to his friend

“Why aren’t you home yet?”, he asked after a pause when all the trace expert did was stare in front of him

Speed’s sarcastic “Why aren’t you?”, was predictable and he rolled his eyes

“You know exactly why”, he shot back not in the mood for any games. “You think my judgement was compromised during the case?”

“Do you?”, Speed asked in turn then held up a hand when Eric became angry. “Look kid, I haven’t seen you much these last couple of days. You worked this one with Calleigh and H”

Eric ran a hand over his face knowing Speed was right. “Horatio seemed to think so”, he said at last. “He took me off it. And don’t ask me why?”

“Do you think your judgement was compromised”, Speed repeated

“I don’t know”, Eric admitted frankly then explained about Dr. Marsh’s reaction to the stolen files

“Would she have liked it had her son been collared for murder?”, Speed asked him reasonably. “I mean”, he added before Eric could give him a smart ass reply. “Hypothetically Eric, if he had killed her and if we had arrested him”. Eric knew the answer was no but he didn’t know what Speed wanted to say. Speed realised his friend was confused and explained. “You would have arrested him anyway right?”

“Yeah but… the patient files… they aren’t the same”

Speed snorted. “Something tells me she cared more about her son than she did a few files or even an ethics violation”. Eric had to admit what Speed said made sense. “Look kid, sometimes… we gotta do what we gotta do. Now H is right, if you had gotten into those files… you could have technically gotten into legal hot water but is your judgement compromised just cos you made a bad suggestion”

“So he shouldn’t have taken me off the case”. Speed groaned. Deepening the fight between Horatio and Eric hadn’t been what he’d been aiming for when he had sought Eric out. Then he caught the grin Eric was trying to hide out of the corner of his eye and whacked the younger man on the back of his head. “C’mon”, Eric said getting him to his feet. “Least I could do is buy you a drink”. 

A case about the Russian mob was the last thing Horatio wanted especially with all the problems in his married life but both he and his husband had learnt over the years to put the job first. Besides he had bigger things to worry about. Speed and Calleigh had gone to the park and had potentially walked into a trap. Speed called in with a report of a second body and more tattoos; tattoos Eric saw when he walked in for his own case and identified

“This guy’s Russian mob”

“Ok that’s impressive, but you’re the second person to tell me that”, Tara said with a smile

“Not really”, Eric muttered. “My dad’s Russian”

“Wow. So you’re part-Cuban, part-Russian. Growing up must have been interesting”

Eric couldn’t help but laugh at her tone. “I guess you could say that”

“You all right?”, Eric asked when Horatio came home late that night. Horatio looked and sounded exhausted

“We um… our murder turned into a missing persons case”. He explained about the boat owner

“You think it’s the Russian mob? I saw the body in the morgue this afternoon”, Eric elaborated when his redhead shot him a look

“Potentially”, Horatio admitted then sighed contentedly when Eric after helping him out of his jacket massaged his neck

“C’mon”, Eric said with an amused chuckle. “Let’s get you a bath. And maybe more”, he whispered making Horatio groan

Horatio wasn’t too fond of criminals and bullies, he never had been, but Ivan Sarnoff he knew was especially dangerous as long as he was out. “I don’t like this”, Calleigh said after they had arrested Jason Weller

“Understatement princess”, Speed who was on his other side muttered making Horatio and Calleigh glare at him. “So what now?”

“Now… well now we have other cases”, Horatio reminded them. “We have to wait for Ivan to slip up guys”, he added when he spotted their frustrated looks

“And in the meantime, I have some guns to play with”. Calleigh disappeared back into CSI with a wink and a smile

“You my friend have got it bad”, Horatio teased when he saw the look Speed shot her

“Shut up H”

“So baby brother, now that you two are married when does mami get some grandkids”, Isabella his oldest sister teased him that weekend at the party the Delkos had organised for the couple. Horatio who had just taken a sip of the lemonade Carmen had brought him did a classic spit take making Speed and Eric howl with laughter. 

“Real mature”, Horatio complained when Eric and Isabella high-fived each other

“Isabella”, Carmen added and that one word was enough for Isabella to mutter something under her breath as she glared at a now smirking Horatio. Carmen ignored her daughter to turn to the couple. “You know that is not a bad question”, she said hiding her own smile 

“Mami c’mon”, Eric protested turning as red as Horatio’s hair as Speed who had just managed to get his amusement under control began laughing again; at least until Carmen rounded on him

“And you, when are you asking that lovely Calleigh out?”

“Don’t you have enough to plan with Eric’s life”, Speed shot back finding her mothering just as annoying as he did Alexx’s

“No, I don’t. My baby is all grown up and has gotten married”

“Yeah Speed, see how grown up I’ve become”

“Shut up baby”, Speed growled and Horatio and Eric winced

“Please do not ever call him that”

“Jealous much H?”

“You know all you gotta do is ask her out right”, Alexx said making Speed rethink lunch. Alexx chuckled. “C’mon baby you’ve been pining after her for a while now”

“She’s made it clear she doesn’t want a relationship”, Speed muttered petulantly. 

Alexx was about to chide him for his tone when she caught the pain in his eyes and sighed. She’d seen the same pain in Calleigh’s eyes not too long after her kidnapping after she had let Speed go and again after his betrayal with Horatio’s ‘death’. Alexx had wondered for a while if the reason Speed had backed off was because of Eric – even though she didn’t work at the lab anymore she had stayed in touch with all of them and Ryan and Natalia had mentioned in passing that the two of them were spending a lot of time together - but the blond’s reaction when she had been asked had convinced her that there was nothing to the rumours. She knew though that pushing the young man she thought of as her own child would achieve nothing. Speed was the most stubborn person she knew and considering that she had been Horatio’s friend for almost two decades that was saying something

Eric had seen the positive influence Kyle had brought to Horatio’s life but when his lover had wanted to tell the young man about themselves he’d been hesitant. 

“What if he hates you?”, he had asked his redhead frankly. “I mean he already… he can’t be too happy with you and with the jail term. Plus he thinks you abandoned him”

“Maybe he won’t Eric, maybe he’ll accept us just like your parents did”

“I just… I don’t want you to… I don’t want you to lose him because of us”

But Horatio had heard the fear underneath, the fear Eric had had since the shooting more than a year ago when he had lost the young man for at least a few minutes before the miracle of modern medicine had brought him back to life. “Kyle… he… I never expected to have children… I mean… I am old… It is true”, he had said when Eric wanted to protest. “So… I thought… I love him Eric, he’s my child and…”. He had seen Eric’s face tighten, the flash of pain in those brown eyes when he believed Horatio was about to tell him they would be done if his son couldn’t accept them. He took Eric’s hand in his. “So while I… I will always love him, if he can’t… if he can’t accept the fact that his father is in love with a man, I… I will protect him, cherish him and continue to love him… but from a distance”

“Horatio”, Eric had breathed the tears in his eyes plain. 

“I am not letting you go love. I’m not letting you go for anything or anyone. Not now and not ever”

Kyle, Eric had to admit had surprised him by not just accepting the fact that his father was in love with a man, but a man who was considerably younger. Even if Eric didn’t like hearing it, he was closer in age to Kyle than he was to his lover. He wouldn’t say the two of them had hit it off instantly; Kyle had grown up in the foster system and had learnt to be wary of people, but he was also beginning to realise he had family he could lean on.

Ironically enough, Kyle had a better relationship with Eric’s parents especially his mother who had seen another project in him when she had come around to Horatio and Eric’s place one day to stock up their fridge. “You need to eat more”, was now a constant refrain of hers to the really thin blond who had after one session of her mothering been sold on her. Kyle who was no idiot – he couldn’t have been if he had survived all those years on the streets – had realised early on that while Julia loved him, she just wasn’t the doting type

Eric had of course flat out refused to have Julia know about them and not just because she had been dating Saris at the time. Rather he simply did not trust the woman who he suspected of having a hidden agenda. Kyle who had again been more mature than Eric had given him credit for had promised to keep their secret

Eric had when coming up after an interview with Amy Beck been surprised to an agitated Horatio talking to an equally upset Kyle in one of the interview rooms. “Everything all right?”, he asked taking in their tense postures. 

Kyle kept his gaze fixed on his father who as was his habit let his eyes flit to all corners of the room. “Dad please”, he said making Horatio look pained. “I need you to put me in the car”

“Put you in the car for what?”, Eric asked Horatio who pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kyle?”

“My neighbour, he turned up dead”, Kyle said at last and Eric’s eyes widened. “He was killed with my car”

“You just said the two of you have keys”, Horatio reminded him. “Kyle you can’t protect your mother like this”

“So we just need to find the evidence to tell us who really did this right?”, Eric asked holding on to the hope that it wouldn’t be Julia. “I can take a look at the car”, he offered. Horatio hesitated, even if the brass didn’t know Eric was his husband… “I’ll take Tripp with me”, Eric said and he gave in at last

“Crab shell?”

“Yeah Eric found it under the brake pedal”, Tripp said then spotted Horatio’s smile. “You know who it is”

“Oh yes I do Frank”

“Thank you”

“It’s ok”, Eric said with a chuckle not wanting Horatio to make a big deal out of this

“No it’s not Eric, you… you saved Kyle and Julia’s life”

“C’mon H”, Eric said his embarrassment plain. “All I did was find the evidence that was already there. Any CSI would have done the same thing”

Horatio though shook his head. “Maybe Eric, but maybe not. Maybe they would have taken a look at Kyle’s record and hung him out to dry”

“No one on our team would have done that H”, Eric protested. “You drilled into all of us to look into evidence the proper way”

Horatio smiled looked around him to make sure they were alone before he stepped into the print lab to discretely squeeze Eric’s hand. “Thank you”, he repeated making Eric blush

Eric wasn’t too surprised to find Kyle – who had his own key to the place – waiting for them at the house. “Is your mother ok?”, Horatio asked him and the blond nodded.

“I just… I wanted to thank you both”

Eric who had reached his embarrassment quota for the day as far he was concerned, groaned, making the father and son duo chuckle. “I’m gonna go change”, the Cuban mumbled wanting to get out of his suit. “I’ll see you guys in a bit”

“I’ll see what’s there for dinner love before I…”

“Oh, I kinda already did that dad. I mean I made you guys something. I promise it’s edible”, Kyle confessed and both Horatio and Eric exchanged a glance

“You know you didn’t have to right?”, the younger man asked at last and Kyle smiled.

“I know, like I said though. Wanted to say thanks”

Eric exchanged another glance with Horatio nodded and left

“So wait, the guy actually sewed in a bomb in the dress, wow, that actually sounds…”

“Unless the next word out of your mouth was going to be something along the lines of dangerous”, Horatio warned Kyle making Eric who had just entered laugh

“Oh c’mon dad”, Kyle protested. “You gotta admit something like that has to be ingenious”

“Like father like son huh? What you like playing with bombs too H”, Eric said deliberately teasing Horatio. His face fell the next second though when he thought Horatio wasn’t looking

“I disarmed them for a living gentlemen”, Horatio reminded Kyle and Eric who both grinned. “Let me get you some coffee”, he added standing up gently kissing Eric on the cheek, making the Cuban realise his long-face had been noticed. He managed a smile

The doorbell gave him an out and he volunteered to open it wondering who the hell it was. Speed had a key and the rest of them wouldn’t dare show up at Horatio’s place without calling first

The man in a cheap suit that screamed Fed was the last thing he had expected. “Yes?”, he asked raising an eyebrow

“Eric Delko?” Nodding in response to the question Eric wasn’t too surprised when the man pulled out a badge. “Jason Long. FBI, Miami Field Office”. Eric kept his mouth shut asking Agent Long to get to the point. The agent smirked as if he knew a secret Eric didn’t. “I’m investigating the activities of one Ivan Sarnoff and the Russian mob and I was hoping you’d volunteer your services”

“And why the hell would I do that?”, Eric said finding his voice again

“Because if you don’t the Federal Government will have no choice but to initiate legal proceedings against you for being an illegal alien in this country”


	4. Interlude 1

The first time Timothy Speedle had met Horatio Caine he had been in his early twenties. Coming to Miami lost and broken-hearted he had been really lucky to run into Mike and Amy Colfax, uncle and aunt to one Andrew Colfax, his best-friend who had died barely a year ago. Mike Colfax, a CSI at the crime lab had almost had him arrested on loitering charges before he had recognised the young man from the photographs his now deceased nephew had sent him. Speed, instead of finding himself in a jail cell had been taken to the police officer’s home, cleaned up and given a new lease on life, especially when he had been introduced to Megan Donner, head of the day shift. Megan had chosen to look past his alcoholism and his unshaven scruffy appearance and had instead asked him to go back to finish his degree promising him a job on his return; something for which Speed had never been able to repay her

Horatio had been a detective with homicide when Speed had joined the lab. They had worked a lot of cases together and it hadn’t taken Speed long to spot the pain he saw in his own eyes reflected in those blue orbs. Horatio had lost someone he had realised then and that loss had scarred him just as bad as Speed’s own had scarred his soul. It was inevitable the two would become friends

Eric had sneaked up on him. When he had joined CSI at the ripe old age of twenty-five, Speed had taken bets with Calleigh as to how long the young man would last. Eric had had an enthusiasm for life that had made the trace expert green with envy and he hadn’t been able to believe that such a cheerful individual could handle their most often than not grisly murder scenes. But Eric had surprised him by not just staying, he had also retained a lot of his innocence. He still, sometimes to both Speed and Horatio’s exasperation and jealousy had the ability to see the world with rose-tinted glasses, even after everything life had thrown at him

Eric had worked hard to get Speed out of his shell and back out into the world again, kicking and screaming if he had to. He had ignored all of the older man’s sarcasm, bullied him, cajoled him, threatened him, and as a last resort had gotten Calleigh, Alexx and even Horatio on his side. Speed had fought him tooth and nail at first claiming he was fine with just coming to CSI and going back home each evening but had found himself giving in. And he had been rewarded for renouncing his monkish ways with not just another set of parents who loved him as much as Alexx and Henry did but a family in the form of three – now two sisters – two brothers-in-law and a multitude of nieces and nephews

“He always wanted children you know”, Horatio said suddenly as Speed sat down next to him after having called the Delkos. 

“I know”, Speed said when Horatio fell silent. “You remember the case about the little girl… the Caplans”. He wasn’t too surprised at the redhead’s nod. Horatio, to his knowledge had never forgotten a single victim. “He told me then that he had hoped to find someone he loved and have a houseful of kids. Only he would have taken care of them”

“So many excuses over the years. I gave him so many excuses over the years as to why we couldn’t have adopted”. Speed heard the self-derision loud and clear. “Truth was I was always scared. I always believed he would either find someone younger, someone better, someone who could…”. Horatio stopped when his voice choked. “Someone who wouldn’t fail him… and after Clavo had him shot… I couldn’t Speed. I always held a part of my heart back”

“No you didn’t H”, Speed protested. “You gave him everything you had and Eric knew this. He always knew how much you loved him”

“Then why couldn’t I have that family with him Tim? Why couldn’t I give him what he wanted?”

‘I could have married him legally’

‘Eric and I were married in a small ceremony ten months ago’

“How long do you think they’ve been fooling us?”, Ryan asked Calleigh a small smile on his face, his gaze fixed on where Horatio and Speed sat their heads together. Calleigh, Horatio’s words still ringing in her ears barely heard the question.

“I don’t know”, she said at last not really surprised everyone knew. There had been patrol cops on the scene and any gossip about Horatio Caine, CSI extraordinaire was too good to pass. Word travelled fast in Miami. “But if I had to guess”, she continued her own eyes on the pair now. “Around the time Eric got shot”. She was surprised when Ryan shook his head

“You know I was an outsider looking in when I came to the team right?”, he asked her and she had the grace to look slightly sheepish. It wasn’t that Ryan hadn’t been accepted by any of them. On the contrary both Horatio and Calleigh had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome, correcting his every mistake patiently. But that had been the professional side of things. 

Ryan had learnt right from the start that while he wasn’t a replacement to one Timothy Speedle, trace expert and second in command of the day shift, he was also there only because Speed had gotten shot. There had been rumours about poor gun maintenance, and Ryan with his false bravado which hid a desperate need for recognition, hadn’t exactly been kind to the recovering CSI. Whilst he hadn’t openly mocked Speed – he’d been stupid not suicidal – he had also gone out of his way to prove that he would never be negligent. Eric had been the first one to call him out on it, particularly after the incident when he had – as some claimed – stolen the part-Cuban’s credit on a piece of evidence

The team, who had never let him in when it came to their personal lives – part of the reason he had become frustrated enough to actively seek recognition - had pulled away from him even further after that. And while the distance had hurt it had also let him pay closer attention to what was going on around him. 

Whilst Horatio and Delko had never been open about their relationship at CSI - considering they worked with a bunch of people who were paid to indulge their curious side they’d have had to have been dumb or thoughtless to have displayed any outward signs - there had also been that… something he could see between them. 

“Ryan”

“Sorry what?”, he asked when Calleigh looked at him strangely and he realised he’d been lost. “Right after Speed got shot”, he said answering his own question. Calleigh’s look became a frown

“You’re kidding”, she muttered

“No”, Ryan said becoming more certain of his deductions. “Right after Speed got shot”

“Ryan, Eric… he…”

“Oh I know exactly how he lost his badge Calleigh”, Ryan said with a quick grin. He wasn’t stupid and he knew there had been a girl involved. “But I’ll bet you all the guns in the ballistics lab, it was right after Speedle got shot”

“You’re on”, Calleigh said quietly. “The minute he wakes up, we ask him”

“Yeah the minute he wakes up”, Ryan agreed hoping against hope that Eric in fact would

Frank Tripp would always laugh when someone on those rare occasions – and it was mostly Eric’s family – asked him how he had come to know about Eric and Horatio. Tripp, once and still for the most part a typical macho cop, hadn’t been a huge fan of the CSIs. If he had wanted to talk science, he had once told a fellow detective, he’d have gone back to high school and sought out a bunch of nerds. But then again Horatio Caine wasn’t a typical science guy either. 

Tripp had still been in patrol when Horatio had come to Miami and had only in fact moved to homicide after the redhead had joined the bomb squad under the leadership of Al Humphries. Back then it had been Donner in charge of CSI and whilst Tripp could never be accused of being a misogynist – Calleigh, Alexx, his ex-wife, Yelina and a bunch of other woman he knew including soft spoken Carmen Delko would have kicked his ass before he could blink, if he had displayed any such tendencies – Megan’s attitude of evidence over gut feeling annoyed the crap out of him. 

Not exactly feeling warm and cuddly towards the CSIs he had continued to show the same hostility – sometimes – with Horatio as well. Even if the redhead hadn’t called him out on it; considering the fact that Horatio outranked him it wouldn’t have been that hard for him to make the detective’s life miserable; he hadn’t exactly let Tripp get away with it either, instead letting the evidence speak for him

Tired of fighting him over things he actually agreed on but was becoming too petulant to accept just because he saw science guys as a pain in his ass, he had given in and had slowly become as close to Horatio as Speed was to Eric. The redhead though unlike Eric wasn’t someone who trusted people easily and he had never known Horatio was dating his subordinate

At least until the day he had caught them quite literally in the act in Horatio’s kitchen

He hadn’t been sure who had been the most mortified between them when he had seen more of them than he had ever wanted. His jaw dropping, he had hoped the earth would open up and swallow him before he had turned around and quiet literally run out of Horatio’s house. A nervous Horatio and a shit-scared Eric had turned up at his doorstep a couple of hours later

All Tripp had done was invite them in, hand them a beer, told them if they mentioned this to anyone they would be shot in their sleep, then teased them silly about their relationship. Horatio’s gratitude that day had produced a lump in his throat which had only been equalled by the time he’d been asked to stand as the redhead’s best man; and now when they all truly believed Eric would be lost when Alexx informed them that they had to remove bullet fragment still lodged in the part-Cuban’s brain

Because he knew with certainty that Horatio would leave CSI if that happened and Miami would finally close


	5. Chapter 3

The Russians weren’t the only mob, the CSI team had faced down in Miami, there had been the Cubans, the Mexicans, the Mala Noche and of course Joey Salucci and his ilk. Even after having him put him away a couple of years Salucci was back, prime suspect in the murder of a young man with their only witness being William Campbell.

The crane came just as they were preparing to leave.

“Eric”, Eric heard Calleigh yell from where a part of him was buried underneath the debris

“I’m stuck I can’t get to you”, he answered even as his ankle throbbed. Feeling helpless when Calleigh called their witnesses’ name out loud he tried to move the debris only managing to pin himself in worse. He heard a body fall and yelled for Calleigh again even as he tried to tell himself that their witness was the one in trouble. “Calleigh”, he repeated when there was no answer. Wait someone was crying… a woman… Calleigh was crying. “Calleigh”, he yelled again. Calleigh never cried and now… the sounds of heartbreaking sobs reached his ears and he refocussed his efforts on getting himself out. “Calleigh please”, he yelled close to losing it. Please be ok, he thought. Please, please, please be ok

Calleigh appeared a moment later, her hair mussed up, her face streaked with tears and plaster, her hands scraped. Ignoring his questions, she began pulling pieces of the wall from his side

The call about trapped officers and a damaged building had a shaken Horatio and Speed running to the Hummer. By the time they reached the scene a slightly limping Eric was being helped out by a fireman while a physically unhurt Calleigh followed. Resisting the urge to yell out his husband’s name, Horatio nonetheless walked over at a fast clip.

“I’m ok”, Eric said when Speed reached him first. “I’m fine. Go see to Calleigh. I’m fine”. He still wasn’t able to get the sound of her sobs out of his head

Speed nodded once and left without argument. Horatio indicated for the fireman to let go and helped Eric to the Hummer. Getting him a bottle of water he waited for the Cuban to clean himself up. “Are you ok?”, he asked when Eric sat down tiredly on the Hummer’s back step. Eric shook his head no

“I couldn’t do anything”, he said not having the energy to hide from Horatio. “I was… I was too far away and I couldn’t help her”. Speed suddenly appeared by their side

“Calleigh wants to track down the crane operator”, he muttered and Horatio pinched the bridge of his nose. Technically he knew both Eric and his ‘bullet girl’ were witnesses but if he had tried to bench her everyone around him would’ve called him a hypocrite, faster than he could blink

“Fine stay close to her”, he ordered Speed. His glance told Eric to not even think about voicing the question out loud

“I’m not staying in the lab”, Eric argued

“Of course not”, Horatio said. “You are going to a hospital”. Despite the circumstances, Speed couldn’t help but laugh out loud. 

“Have fun kid”, he teased Eric before he exited stage left. Eric glared at his stubborn boss

Speed had always known Calleigh was dedicated… more like obsessed in ensuring their victims got justice. Heck it was one of the reasons he admired her. But right at this moment though when she went from lead to lead without stopping; he wished he could smack her senseless. Or get Alexx out here. Because if there was one person everyone on the team listened to when they were asked to take a break it was their former ME. At least Ryan’s gasping breath which told him the young man was scared out of his mind was providing him with some entertainment

“She had no right”

“Eric”, Calleigh tried

“She had no right”, Eric repeated. “You did not get him killed. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about”

“No you don’t know what you’re talking about”, Calleigh yelled stopping his rant. “No you don’t”, she repeated when he was about to protest. “Now if you don’t mind I have some work to do”

“You know she just needs time right?”, Speed who had come up behind him asked. “And let’s face it kid. No one tells Calleigh how she feels”

“That’s not what I…”

“Nope sorry kid”, Speed said with a smile that was pained. “That’s exactly what you tried to do. And anyway don’t you have your own mess to fix”

“Now you’re the one that doesn’t know what he’s talking about man”, Eric said as he stalked off

“Yeah sure I definitely don’t know what I’m talking about”, Speed muttered when he found Eric sitting on the grass near the track holding on to his definitely not injured ankle. 

“Don’t say it”, Eric said before he could open his mouth. 

“Ice?”, Speed asked. Eric shook his head and Speed stopped trying to be funny. “You heard what happened?”

“Campbell died because he tried to do the right thing Tim. Now we can’t get Salucci for either crime”

“Campbell died because his son was a selfish asshole”, Speed retorted. “And H had one of his moments. We got Salucci”

“What?” Eric his jaw slack saw that Speed was grinning. “How?”

Speed explained what had happened. “Calleigh and H got him Eric”. He looked surprised when Eric groaned. “What?”

“Nothin’. I was just hopin’ the case would last much longer”, he muttered. “I may have made a mess of things”

“Define mess”

“You know what don’t worry about it”, Eric deflected as he stood up and tried to put some weight on his injured ankle. He cursed when he realised he was definitely not going anywhere on his own.

“Will I get my head bitten off if I offered you a ride?”

The glare told him his sarcasm was ill-timed

“I… I’m going on a date”, Speed said suddenly a couple of days later as he hung around at Eric’s condo. 

“Say what?”, Eric whose attention was definitely not on the game he was pretending to be watching asked. He sported a huge grin when he realised what Speed had said. “You finally asked her huh?”

“Don’t get too excited”, Speed muttered. “I’m going out with Tara”

“Wait as in our M.E?”

“Yes”. There was a hint of defiance to his tone. “I… I find her easy to talk to”

‘Translation, Calleigh shut me out again and I got tired of it’

Eric who truly believed his stubborn friends belonged together found himself getting mad at Speed. “C’mon man. She’s just upset our witness died. You could’ve waited”

“For how long?”, Speed snapped. “How long am I supposed to put my life on hold for someone who might never return my feelings”

“Forever if you think she’s worth it Tim”. Speed snorted

“if you believed in forever you wouldn’t be here in this condo”. Eric’s answer was to almost crush his can of beer to death

“You sunk my date”

“Excuse me?” Eric who had just come out of the shower looked and sounded confused. “What the hell do you mean?”

“Tara. She cancelled on me”

“Because I played a prank on her?”, Eric asked incredulously

“No”, Speed muttered as he got himself a can of beer. “Because I defended you with her”

“Oh thanks then”, Eric said sarcastically snatching the beer from his hand. “So what now you come here to claim your pound of flesh or something”

“No”, Speed said suddenly serious. “I wanna know why you’re here. What’s going on with you and H?”

Eric’s first instinct was to snap that it was none of Speed’s business but he suppressed it and instead sat down on the couch tiredly. “I… I had another fight with him?”

“Cos of Tara”

“No”, Eric said with a quick smile. “H wasn’t even mad. He…”. He shook his head slightly wistfully. “It was just something silly”

“Did he hurt you kid?”, Speed asked with a frown unable to believe Horatio would do something like that. But still… Eric looked and sounded pained

“What course not. What the fuck are you smoking?” His passionate defence convinced Speed he’d been wrong. So why the hell did Eric look like his world was falling apart. “It’s my parents Tim. I just… H thinks…”. His face was in his hands

“H thinks you should leave it alone”

“Yes”

“Eric”

“What the hell do you want me to say Tim?”, Eric asked his anger coming back full force. “I know my parents lied to me, so what I was just supposed to forget?”

“Did you talk to them about it?”. Eric turning his head away gave Speed his answer. He was about to open his mouth when Eric muttered a curt “Drop it”, and he listened for once

Dr. Tara Lewis, newest M.E. to the crime lab had been warned about the tight knit team she had walked into by CSI Ryan Wolfe, who had also told her to not take it personally if Eric, Speed, Calleigh and Horatio, especially Eric and Speed were less than receptive to her. So she had been surprised and pleasantly so when Speed had asked her out. That was at least until Eric had messed up her case and she had been rude to him. Speed, she had discovered then cared more about his friend and partner in the lab than he did anyone else on the planet but considering the fact that she was in the right and Eric hadn’t even apologised to her. Oh he had said sorry but still… she hadn’t expected Speed to bring it up, much less ask her why she couldn’t be nice to him and simply see the joke. She had retorted by saying that a man in his thirties should know better than to play around with evidence and things had quickly gone downhill from there

And now Speed had simply waltzed into her domain and taken her tools without her permission

Instead of the biting sarcasm she had been expecting, Tara had actually gotten herself a reasonable explanation and had to admit, he had needed her tools more than she did. A missing and presumably alive child definitely took precedence to her dead body. But that didn’t mean she was ready to be pleasant to him yet. Even if the thank you and the smile were obviously tugging at her heart. 

“You all right?”, Eric asked Speed as he walked into the trace lab almost an hour later the smirk on his face plain. The trace expert’s eyes narrowed as his hackles went up. Eric was up to something. The younger man’s laughter despite the situation confirmed his suspicions

“Yes. Why?”, he asked when Eric continued to display that annoying face that clearly said know-it-all. 

“A little birdie told me Dr. Price was here earlier today. And that you had a smile for her”

“Shut up Eric”, Speed said as he went back to the baseball despite the fact that it seemed to have given him everything just to avoid Eric’s very leading questions. His deliverance came in the form of the kidnappers’ location. Eric back to being completely professional led them out of there

Everyone froze when Sanchez their suspect jumped out of the vehicle; the very moving vehicle with Sophie Walsh still inside. The next second and the vehicle crashed and flipped on its side. “No”, Eric yelled but Horatio’s, “Get Sanchez”, had him instinctively running towards the former maître d. Cuffing the man he was about to hand him off to the uniforms when the SUV Sanchez had been driving exploded

“H”, Eric screamed his pain visible when he thought he had lost the man who was whole life. “Horatio, no”

Then the impossible happened and like some ancient dragon slayer, Horatio walked out of the ring of fire, alive, relatively unscathed and with the baby to boot. Eric’s knees felt like jelly and only the fact that if he collapsed their secret would be out for the whole world to see – not to mention Tim would tease him senseless about it – made him keep his feet. 

Horatio and the child reached him and Eric… he swore he melted from the smile Horatio shot him; and at the sight of the baby in his arms. His eyes saddened the next moment and of course Horatio noticed that and shot him a questioning look. “Later”, Eric said quietly as the rest of the uniforms arrived. “Let’s first get Sophie to her mum” – he noticed the part of the arm Horatio was trying to hide from him – “And a first aid kit to you”, he said with a resigned sigh knowing Horatio was never going to agree to a hospital. His redhead’s smug smile made him wish Alexx were here to bully him into it

“Are you all right love?”, Horatio asked him later that evening after his burn had been treated and dinner that Carmen had dropped off had been eaten.

“I’m fine”, Eric said absent-mindedly shifting so that he was leaning much more comfortably against Horatio. “Just a little tired”

“Been a long few days”, Horatio agreed automatically even if his instincts told him Eric was lying; or at least lying about a part of it because it really had been a long few days, hell weeks since they had come back from Vegas and they were all tired

“You ever…”, Eric began then stopped. They had had this conversation before after all… and it still stung every time

“I ever what?”, Horatio asked when Eric stayed silent. “What is it love?” His worry spiked when Eric just rolled into him and buried his face in his redhead’s chest. “Eric”

“Jus’ wanna sleep”, Eric mumbled. “Please”, he whispered a second later and Horatio unable to take the pain in his voice let him get away with it

Despite Eric’s claims of exhaustion and Horatio’s injuries, neither of them had slept a wink the previous night. Consequently they were both more than grumpy with the world; and each other – Horatio knew Eric was hiding something from him and Eric was mad at Horatio for reasons he didn’t wanna discuss – when they stepped into CSI the next day. 

And of course there would be a call out…

Eric wanted to say something, anything – Horatio’s right arm still sported some nasty burns and though he thought of his redhead as invincible most days they had just had a close call and… 

“Take Speed with you”. His head snapped up and his eyes widened in disbelief. “Take Speed with you”, Horatio said with a small smile and walked up to his office

“Can… can you do me a favour?”, Eric asked Speed when he stopped the vehicle in front of their latest crime scene

“Sure kid”, Speed said nonchalantly not noticing, or more likely pretending to not notice the dark circles under the Cuban’s eyes or the general air of misery he wore

“Can I… can I just take the pictures and… I’ll make it up to you at the next scene”, he muttered. “The next two bloaters, if I have to”, he continued quickly when Speed turned towards him. “Just sort of tired”. His tone told the trace expert to let it go. Speed took a deep breath, nodded and did just that

Speed was really surprised - and a bit frightened – when he was cornered by not just Ryan, but an annoyed Calleigh, Natalia, Valera and Dr, Price. Calleigh and Natalia on their own could take his head off clean most days, and add an explosive and unpredictable character like Valera and a doctor to the mix… He hid his gulp and raised an eyebrow

“Did you and Eric have a fight?”

“What?”, he asked genuinely surprised

“Did you two fight?”, Calleigh repeated. He snorted. Since when was his relationship with his best friend their business

“He almost contaminated a piece of evidence, yelled at Natalia when she asked him about it, spilled coffee in the breakroom then refused to clean it up and kicked my ass when I asked him if he wanted to go out and blow off some steam with me and Valera”, Ryan enumerated Eric’s sins for the day quietly

Speed turned to Dr. Price wondering why she was there. “I was a part of the furniture he spilled the coffee on”

Ah, that explained her wet hair

“I’ll talk to him”, he promised. “Look guys, no we aren’t fighting, Eric’s just going through some stuff, and yes I’m sure he’ll apologise to all of you individually tomorrow”

“Tim”, Calleigh asked her concern plain. “This isn’t like Eric. He never does stuff like this”

“I know”, was all Speed could think to say. After all Calleigh was right. Sure Eric had a temper but he was never mean to anyone deliberately. “I’ll talk to him”, he repeated

“I don’t know”, Horatio admitted when Speed came to him with what he had learnt. “I know something’s bothering him but…”

“It’s not his birth certificate, or not just his birth certificate, is it?” Though phrased like a question Horatio heard the certainty in his voice

“I don’t know”, he repeated both angry and sad wondering why Eric had stopped communicating with him

“What did you do H?”, Speed asked him resignedly and his eyes flashed. Speed had no right to just presume… “I’m not assuming anything. I know my best friend Horatio, he’s not mad at you, he’s disappointed and hurt, but not mad. So what did you do?”

Horatio didn’t have an answer


	6. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite character in the show is Eric, then Speed, then Horatio. Ryan ranks somewhere way below and there was a time I hated that character so for people who read this who are Wolfe fans, he is never going to be shown in an overtly positive light in my story.

Ever since Eric and Marisol’s shooting at the hands of the Mala Noche three years ago Horatio had had nightmares of Frank Tripp coming up to him with the same posture and the same tone telling him Eric and or Speed were…

“Eric’s been shot”. He swore his heart stopped. His palms were sweaty and it felt as if his voice had been robbed. “He says he’s fine”, Tripp continued before he could work himself into a panic and just like that his paralysis lifted

“Tell me on the way Frank”

He wasn’t too surprised to find Speed, Calleigh and Ryan follow him in a second Hummer. “There’s a victim in the pool. I want you and Calleigh on it”, he ordered his trace expert who hesitated wanting to see Eric was ok for himself. 

“I’ll get started with Dr. Price and you can join me”, Calleigh said offering him a way out

“Mr. Wolfe, Eric has been staying here” – He ignored Speed’s sharp intake of breath – “According to him the shot grazed him and hit the wall”

“I’m on it sir”, Ryan said and with a nod walked in

“You ready?”, Horatio asked Speed who didn’t bother responding

They found Eric talking to the patrol officers. Horatio, spotting the pristine white bandage on the otherwise dark skin had a horrible sense of déjà-vu once more as he recalled the day Marisol had been killed. Apparently Speed’s head had gone to the same place because he caught the younger man flinch from the corner of his eye. Then Speed strode with a determined air towards his husband and Horatio knowing of – and having personally experienced – their explosive tempers followed with resigned sigh

“Eric”, he said and that had Eric turn to them. He froze for a second before he found the courage to confront them. 

“Swabbing everyone for GSR before we get prints and elimination samples”

The case was the last thing on Horatio’s mind. “Are you ok?”, he asked softly even if Eric seemed on the surface to be unscathed. Eric apparently was more interested in the corpse or knew he was better off being more interested in the corpse because he continued with what he knew

“I’ve never seen him before and I’ve been here a little while”

And that statement didn’t invite Speed’s next question at all. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“My condo… there’s… some… renovations”. Even if Speed didn’t openly call him a liar to his face Eric still bristled. “Look it’s just for a little while all right”, he said defensively

“And you couldn’t have stayed with me because…”

Eric’s jaw tightened and it was clear he didn’t want to have this conversation. “Why don’t um… why don’t you go change Eric… We… um… we need your statement officially and…”

“You’re not gonna let me work this are you?”, Eric asked with the air of someone expecting the worst but to his surprise Horatio shook his head

“You’re with Speed and Calleigh”. And just like that his smile dimmed. This wasn’t an assignment as far as he was concerned. This was Horatio throwing him to the wolves. He stalked off to his room

“Not here”, Horatio said before Speed could even open his mouth. “I’ll see you and Tripp tonight at our place at ten. Make sure you’re not followed”

Ryan Wolfe and Eric Delko had gotten off on the wrong foot four years ago. On the surface, Eric had seemed at least to Ryan to be an immature kid who while he was talented could also be careless. Couple that with his short fuse and the numerous rumours about his flirty nature and Ryan couldn’t see how someone like him could be on Horatio’s team. 

Eric on the contrary saw in Wolfe, someone who sought recognition – recognition that sometimes wasn’t his to seek, like the time he had taken the key gun to Horatio on his own or the time he had interviewed Cheryl Lyle without Calleigh; and had insulted Calleigh’s work ethic

While Eric had never been a fan of Kenwall Duquesne as far as he was concerned the guy was Calleigh’s father and that was that. The Cuban was someone who put his family first and couldn’t ever fault Calleigh for doing the same thing. So what if she had to drive out in the middle of the case. She obviously had had Horatio’s blessing and it was none of Ryan’s business

Calleigh of course with her generous nature had chosen to forgive the young CSI but Eric had never let him live it down. And then Ryan had leaked the news about the nuclear device and there had been a time the team had feared the two men would never be able to work together

But if there was a good thing to the Mala Noche’s appearance it had brought the team together; because stupid and impulsive as both young men had been they had both recognised that they’d never survive the crime wave if they couldn’t trust each other; and they couldn’t ever trust each other if they didn’t try to understand each other

Ryan getting shot in the eye turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the part Cuban’s sense of responsibility – sense of responsibility Ryan had never bothered attributing to him – meant that he couldn’t just let the young man suffer in silence. He hadn’t exactly stayed with him the first couple of days Ryan had been out of the hospital, but he had bullied his way into the former patrol cop’s life and had in his own way taken care of him

True they never had been and would never become as close as Speed and Eric, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t have each other’s back; or at least that was what Ryan told himself when he pocketed the note then went to Horatio

Eric stopped short when faced with not just Calleigh – who had him paged saying there was an update in the case – but Speed, Ryan and surprisingly enough Tripp. He raised an eyebrow telling them to get on with it

“Who’s gunning for you Delko?”, Tripp asked him point blank and he glared. But he’d forgotten that the detective had had plenty of experience baiting Horatio in his initial days and had seen worse.

“I don’t know”, he said giving in dragging a chair for himself next to Ryan, avoiding Speed and his simmering temper. “Thought my place was being watched, that’s why I’ve been staying at the motel”. Speed and Tripp exchanged a glance but he ignored them. Thankfully enough Calleigh diverted their attention with the information on the bullet

“Who knows you were staying at the motel?”, Ryan asked his worry plain

“No one”. Even Horatio didn’t know where he’d been at. But then Eric reflected on his answer. “No one except Enrico”

“Enrico?”

“Bartender at Citanas. I… I needed something from him. Look I’m just gonna talk to him all right”, he said before Speed could ask him any more questions

“I’m coming with”

“Tim”

“I’m coming with”, Speed said snatching the keys to his Hummer, leaving Eric no choice but to follow

“Frank?”, Calleigh asked the detective as her eyes tracked her friends worriedly. “What else do you know”

Frank did his best to avoid her accusing eyes

“Please don’t”, Eric said as he waited beside the Hummer for Speed who handed him the keys without a word but the young man didn’t just leave. “I called ma… asked… asked her to come down to CSI”

“Cos of that?” The trace expert pointed to the document still in his hand

“Can you come with me?” The vulnerability in his voice shocked Speed and he nodded

“She doesn’t mean you”, Speed said firmly when he found Eric looking out the slanting glass. “Eric she never said you were a mistake”

“Didn’t she?”

“She loves you kid, they both do”

“Yeah ok”, Eric said sounding exhausted as hell. “The case stalled… H he… he insisted I go home and… I’ll see you later ok”. He saw Speed hesitate. “There’s gonna be patrol following me. H cleared it with the chief”, he explained. Speed still didn’t look too confident but Eric didn’t have anything better to offer

“You’ve still got patrol outside”, was the first question a stunned Speed asked Horatio as he found Eric and Frank already waiting for him in the kitchen. Horatio was one of those cops who did not believe in defense but, Speed reflected a second later, it wasn’t his life on the line this time, it was Eric’s and Horatio protected the ones he loved with everything he had

“Sit. Eat”, Horatio ordered not wanting to talk about anything serious just yet even as he nudged a distracted Eric’s knee. Eric’s sheepish smile both angered and reassured Speed

“You two weren’t fighting, were you?”, Frank asked just as mad as him

“Frank, please eat. Give us a minute and we’ll explain everything”, Horatio requested, and the detective complied

They moved into the living room and the comfortable couch which Eric and Horatio immediately claimed with the Cuban almost sitting on the redhead’s lap. That alone sent Frank and Speed’s worry back up. Their friends weren’t exactly known for PDA even in front of them 

“H?”, Speed asked, the one word conveying a multitude of emotions, concern being the primary

Horatio in answer placed a card on the table. “Jason Long, FBI field office Miami”, Tripp read. “What does this asshole want”

“The Russian mob”

“And what the hell do you have to do with it?”, Speed snapped

“Alexander Sharova”

Speed and Tripp exchanged another glance; something they seemed to be doing a lot today as they put the pieces together. “How long have you two had that?”, Tripp asked pointing to the birth certificate

“Ever since… ever since the bombing case”, Eric said trying to recall dates. The last few months hadn’t just been long; they’d been impossible with him having to stay away from Horatio a lot. As if in answer to his thoughts Horatio pulled him in closer and planted a kiss to his temple making his friends grin despite the circumstances

Speed took a deep breath hating the fact that he’d have to be the one to stop the light hearted moment, particularly since he knew moments like these had been rare in the couple’s life lately, but they needed answers. “So you guys pretended to fight for us, then what? Eric moves out, makes himself vulnerable” – he was working himself up into a temper – “This is the Russian mob”

“It was either this or send Eric back to Cuba”, Horatio said quietly refusing to let himself get riled up. “Yes we could have gotten lawyers involved but it would have only put Eric in more danger not less”

But Speed wasn’t done beating up their to him at least obviously crazy and dangerous plan. “Stop”, Eric said sitting up properly. “This isn’t on H. All this is on me. I told them I’d do this”

“So what you trust feds now?”, Tripp asked him with a snort

“No we don’t, neither of us do”

“I had Adele watching him Frank”, Horatio said his tone telling them to back off from Eric. Horatio would take all the anger they wanted to throw at him. He wasn’t letting them hurt Eric and frankly his husband didn’t deserve it

“I changed the plan at the last minute”, Eric admitted one hand rubbing his face, the other reaching for Horatio. “I moved out cos I found a note in my condo. No prints, no DNA, no trace on it but…” He pulled out an envelope from the coffee table and handed it to them. Sevilla’s pictures were inside along with the note Eric had told them about

“When was this?”, Speed asked

“Two days ago. So I packed up, found myself the cheapest motel I could afford and moved in. I needed to know Long wasn’t lying about the birth certificate but it took me a while to find someone who could help me out”

“So you went to Enrico”, Speed finished for him. “You didn’t know about this, did you?”

“No”, Horatio said shortly still upset with Eric for his reckless decision

“I couldn’t let… all of this is my fault and I couldn’t let any of you get hurt any further”

“At the outside if you wanna blame someone blame your parents Delko, but I can’t see how this is on you”

“Frank”, Speed protested when the Cuban’s eyes flashed. Eric adored his parents

“You know exactly what I mean kid”, Tripp continued his gaze on Eric. “And no neither of us are backing off. Heck we wouldn’t have before we knew what this was. And now with the Russian mob”

“Exactly Frank. They’re dangerous”

Frank snorted making Horatio and Speed grin. “We need to find our assassin first gentlemen”, Horatio said and Speed’s amusement vanished. “Frank, I need you to stick close to Eric in the field. It’s either that or the lab”, he added when Eric looked annoyed. Eric’s nod was reluctant at best. “Speed, I need you and Natalia to go back to the crime scene tomorrow, specifically the alley behind the motel. Carl Reston is claiming that’s where he threw the gun”

“What are you gonna be doing?”, Speed asked his boss

“Tracking down Sharova”

“Not on your own you’re not”, Eric snapped. 

“I will have some help Eric”, Horatio promised. “It’s close to midnight guys”, he added standing up pulling the Cuban to his feet. “You guys know where everything is, so if you’ll excuse us”

Speed’s snort and his, “Two days apart musta been two nights too long”, floated in after them making Eric turn red

“Are we fighting?”, Horatio asked abruptly as the couple worked around each other efficiently to make breakfast for themselves and their guests the next morning. Eric who had been reaching for his cup of coffee stopped.

“No”, he said softly but the fact that he wouldn’t meet Horatio’s eyes set off alarm bells in the redhead’s mind

“Eric”, he said and Eric hearing the pleading tone hated himself for it. He wanted to lie and say everything was fine but couldn’t bring himself to do so and not just because Horatio would know. He realised he couldn’t put this conversation off much longer. It was eating at him after all and he knew it would destroy their relationship if he didn’t… and yet…

And yet it felt lately as if they were in the middle of a warzone with both the Russians and the FBI and Eric knew they couldn’t afford any more drama. If they all had to get out of this alive and unscathed they needed to keep their head. Mind made up he turned to Horatio with a genuine smile and wrapped his arms around his redhead’s neck

“I promise”, he said softly his lips close to Horatio’s. “I promise we will work this out”

“So there is something”. Horatio by contrast hadn’t relaxed at all

“Yes”, Eric agreed refusing to let go when Horatio tried to move back. “Yes there is but… No”, he said when Horatio tried to open his mouth then for good measure kissed him. “Yes there is but no, we aren’t fighting, and we are ok”

“You’re not mad at me are you. You’re upset. With me”. Speed, Eric thought with a fond smile. His best friend knew him better than anyone else on the planet, even Horatio sometimes

“Not right now”, Eric said honestly. “Look H, I made a promise to be there for better or for worse and yes I’m gonna get mad at you and you’re gonna do the same thing. We are human after all. But we will always work through it”

“Promise?”, Horatio asked him softly

“I promise”. Eric sealed the deal with another gentle kiss

“Ok this is weird. It’s like, I’m not sure this is an ATV”, Natalia said as Speed stared at the tire treads they had cast from the alley. He smiled. Looked like for once his knowledge of automobiles was going to help solve the case

“What do you got?”

He didn’t bother turning around as he searched for owners of the unique vehicle. “What we got is this”, he said pointing to the three female owners of the CAN-AM SPYDER. “Damn I have to get my hands on one of these”, he muttered almost as an afterthought earning himself snorts from Natalia and Horatio.

“I have a feeling a certain former M.E. would murder you in your sleep if you did that”

“Not to mention Eric’s entire family. Katie Walsh”, Horatio muttered looking at the photograph. “I saw her earlier with Enrico, Speed”

“I’ll have Tripp find her”, Speed said going for his phone

“You’re drooling”, Ryan said with a grin as he approached Walsh’s vehicle with Speed and Tripp. 

“Shut up and check the vehicle”, Speed ordered as Tripp and patrol walked into the restaurant

“So what now?”, Speed asked them looking out the window of Horatio’s office. Walsh had been booked and they were no closer to finding Sharova

“Now, Eric goes home, we have…”

“H, the Russians, they’ll know… they’ll still be watching me”

“I don’t care”, Horatio said for once uncharacteristically stubborn. “I’m not having you stay at a motel”

“It’s not exactly safe Delko”, Tripp said taking Horatio’s side. Eric didn’t even bother looking at Speed mainly because he knew what his friend wanted. “You know we could bring the others in”, the detective suggested hesitantly. “I mean I don’t know Boa Vista all that well but Ryan and Calleigh aren’t exactly stupid”

“They don’t know about me and H, Frank”

“He means with the Russians”, Speed muttered his eyes still on the street outside

“Not now please”, Horatio said when Eric opened his mouth for a retort. “All of us still have about half a day of work to go so I suggest we get started on our paperwork. Eric”, he added. “Let it go for now”

Eric rubbed a hand over his face his frustration plain. “Yeah ok”, he said then left

“I’m gonna pay a visit to Long”, Tripp said when Eric’s footsteps faded away. Horatio hesitated but Tripp shook his head. “Look I won’t… I won’t be my usual blunt self. But…. Don’t we need more on him”. Speed shot him a questioning look as well

“Long wants the Russians Frank. He’s made it plain he’s willing to do anything to collar them”. Both Speed and Frank looked startled once more wondering why Horatio was even working with them. “Eric tipped the wrong people off when he started looking into his birth certificate”, Horatio explained. 

“You aren’t working with the Feds are you”

“No Frank I’m not, we’re not. We just want Long to think we are”

“We need the Russians anyway”, Speed realised. “To keep Eric safe. Carmen Delko said Sharova was bad news”. He hesitated. “You… um… you might wanna talk to him… I didn’t say this yesterday cos I didn’t know if you guys were fighting or not but… She said it was a mistake”

“And Eric thinks his birth is one”, Horatio finished for him fingers pinching the bridge of his nose

“Damn”, Tripp muttered knowing the kid already had enough on his plate. “I’ll go check up on Jason Long”, he said abruptly

Speed waited till he had left as well. “You want the kid to stay with me?”, he asked Horatio who shook his head no. 

“To the rest of the world he’s with me because I believe I’m the only one who can protect him. But… I can’t Tim… I can’t have him somewhere else and…”

Speed understood. Unable to take the emotions he left just as abruptly as Tripp had


	7. Interlude 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not exactly a fan of S8E1 for so many reasons not the least of which was the fact that they changed Speed's background so much, but still that one scene with Horatio and Eric and the hospital and the opening one where he and Calleigh find Eric for me are worth watching again and again
> 
> I hated Caruso's appearance in this though. If they wanted a flashback they shouldn't have waited till he was more than fifty for one. The guy definitely did not even look close to the forty year old he was supposed to be
> 
> I'm an atheist guys. I do not believe in God but Speed's actions in this chapter is not meant to mock people of faith. I truly believe that sometimes prayer can give you strength.

The surgery had taken five hours. According to Alexx that was normal and that was the key word they were all holding on to; normal. They didn’t need a miracle. They just needed Eric to wake up and go back to being normal

“You guys should leave for a bit. Come back in a…”

Horatio aware Alexx knew was already shaking his head. “I need to see him”, he said firmly his gaze on the floor. 

“You can Horatio. For a little while. But he’s still going to be in the ICU and…”

“But I thought you said his surgery was normal”

“It was Calleigh but…”

“Alexx?”, Speed asked his fear plain and Alexx who had volunteered to tell her friends of Eric’s condition now wished she hadn’t; especially when she took in the scared expressions on the faces of the Delko parents

“Eric… Eric’s slipped into a coma”

Horatio stood up. “I need to see him”. This time Alexx didn’t bother raising objections

“Eric… I know… I know how hard you’re fighting right now and I know how easy it would be for you to slip away and be with Marisol… But I don’t want you to do it. I’m not ready, I’m not ready for you to… I won’t ever be Eric… You’re all I’ve got Eric and without you…

“So I want you to do what we always do, I want you to fight”

“That’s what I need you to do”, he whispered standing up stroking Eric’s cheek. “That’s what I need you to do. I’ll be right here”

“You need to go home mijo. You need to get some rest”, Carmen Delko who had finally found the courage to walk into her son’s room said when she found Horatio on a chair next to Eric’s bed, watching over him just like he had the last time Eric had been in this position. Horatio who was one of the most stubborn men she had had the misfortune to meet didn’t even acknowledge her.

“Listen to her Horatio”, Pavel said his booming voice lowered in deference to the hospital. “You need to sleep”

While Horatio could reluctantly ignore Carmen, he had too much respect for his father-in-law. “I… I promised him I’ll be right here”, he said his eyes filling up again. He had always thought of himself as strong, there had been people who had labelled him impassive, cold even, but this was Eric, his other half, the man who was his whole life. “I need to be here when he wakes up”, he said trying to hide the tears

“Oh mijo”, Carmen said going to him gently squeezing his hand. “My Eric will understand Horatio. He will want you to… he will want you to be ok”

Horatio’s laugh was mirthless. He and everyone else around him knew he’d never be ok without Eric

He had always been a man of science deeming anything that couldn’t be proven inexistent. Sure, Eric, Horatio, hell most people around him believed in the man in the sky but while Speed had never openly mocked them he hadn’t exactly hidden his disdain for religion either. 

‘Last time I was in church was when Kurt Kobain died”

And even that hadn’t been voluntary as he recalled. He had unfortunately during the time he had gone to finish his degree at Columbia run into his parents who had nagged him into attending his younger brother’s baptism. Speed, feeling uncomfortable as hell had left the minute he could, vowing never to see them all again. The next time he’d gone to a house of God, he’d been a criminalist investigating the murder of a priest 

‘Are you a religious man?’

‘After a fashion’

‘C’mon Delko. You can skip one Sunday right’

‘My parents’ll kill me’

‘Yeah but it’s a two on two basketball game. And I volunteered you. ’Sides aren’t you 26 years old’

‘Shut up Speed’

‘What the hell was Horatio doing here during the murder anyway. He’s usually the first on scene yeah but this is ridiculous’

‘He was at Church’. Eric’s sharp answer had had Speed turn to him. ‘Look drop it Speed. Let’s just find the car all right’

“Speed”. Calleigh’s flabbergasted tone had Speed look up from where he had been staring at the altar lost in memories of the past. Not wanting the blond to see the tears in his eyes he tried to swipe them away discreetly but wasn’t exactly successful.

“I need him to be ok”, he said when she continued to look stunned. “I just… if I have to… if I have to pray… I don’t care Calleigh”, he continued his cheeks wet again. “I just need him to be ok and if I have to… I’ll believe in anything at this point if he’ll be ok”

“Any news on Eric?”, Natalia asked Frank when he walked into P.D. later that evening in an attempt to fix the mess Ivan’s murder and Sharova’s arrest had caused

“Nothing yet”, Frank admitted. “Alexx said… they removed the bullet that was already there but…”

“But what?”, Valera asked. Travers and a couple of other lab techs who had suddenly crowded Tripp looked worried as well

Tripp sighed. Eric was one of the more well-liked and respected guys in P.D. Hell, for one of the science guys, even folks from patrol and the detective squad had a good rapport with him mostly because of the Cuban’s ability to never let his seniority stop him from being one of the boys. Most people, including Tripp sometimes, mostly because of Eric’s flashy smile and his devil may care attitude, tended to forget that the young man wasn’t exactly young anymore or that he’d been at P.D almost ten years and was a veteran of the force. 

And while Tripp wasn’t someone who encouraged gossip he could see the genuine concern on all of their faces.

“He’s slipped into a coma”, he admitted and Natalia and Valera gasped and Travers’ fist clenched

“But he will be ok yes?”, the Brit asked.

Tripp wished he had an answer

“Anything?”, Yelina asked Ryan who was the only one in the waiting room. 

“No”, Ryan said with a negative headshake. “Alexx said… he… he needs help breathing too and… He’ll pull through right? I mean he’s…”

“Yes he will”, Yelina said firmly as she sat down. 

“Are you ok?”, Ryan asked her in concern. Last he had heard she’d been made by the Russians and almost killed

“I’m fine Ryan. Horatio, he was there. He got me out”, she said a little guiltily wondering if Eric would have been ok had Horatio not chased after her

“Losing you wouldn’t have made things better for anyone Yelina”, Ryan said reading the look on her face. Yelina managed an absent-minded nod. “Can… can I ask you…?”

“I suspected, yes but Horatio never told me they were married”, Yelina said focussing on Ryan again. 

“When did you… when did you figure it out?”

“Well… I never really did but… this was… when…” – She winced then continued gamely. “When I was dating Stetler and… I had gone to pick up Ray Jr. from Horatio’s house and Eric was there. I thought nothing of it back then but…”. She shook her head. Eric had looked flustered as hell to find but Yelina had written it off as nothing thinking the young Cuban had been uncomfortable because it was Horatio’s house

“This was back when I just came to the team right?”, Ryan asked incredibly enough with a smile on his face

“Yes why?”

“Calleigh owes me some guns”, he said settling back in his chair smugly


	8. Chapter 5

The words invincible and Horatio were closely associated in most people’s mind. But to Eric, who was married to the man, invincible would sometimes be replaced by guilt complex, overdeveloped sense of responsibility or other times such as now when he wanted to run in to save their witness Yolanda Ramos with the clock ticking down to zero with reckless, stupid, foolhardy…

When Horatio had done this once before with a bank manager, Eric had been – not too new – but still somewhat awed by his boss’ superhuman status to question his decision, or even think about offering him backup. But now he was four years older and at least in theory wiser. Therefore ignoring Horatio’s admonishments and providing the admittedly limited argument of two pairs of hands could get more done he ran in after his insane husband

Working together it took them less than ten seconds to untie Yolanda. “Get her out”, Eric ordered, knowing if Horatio didn’t have the girl in his arms, he’d insist the Cuban go first. He was lucky he was the first one to speak because they both knew there was no time to argue. His plan worked to perfection and when the house exploded, he was in a position to push them both away and cover them with his own body. 

It took barely a minute for the heat to die down but for Eric who was taking the full brunt of it, it felt like hours before he could sit back up. “Eric”, he heard Horatio say, as if from the end of a tunnel and realised his ears were busted. Sure enough when he inserted a finger into the left one it came away bloody

“Am fine”, he said barely hearing his own shaky voice knowing the only reason Horatio wasn’t calling him all kinds of stupid and screaming at him was because backup and paramedics had finally arrived

“Of course you are”. Suddenly Horatio’s voice was coming through loud and clear and Eric realised the ringing in his ears had lessened. Getting to his feet proved more difficult than he had thought gravity sending him almost back down before his redhead wrapped an arm around him. The stinging in his right knee told him he’d torn the skin there and sure enough, his pant was shredded and bloody. “C’mon”, Horatio muttered annoyed as hell and Eric winced

“Yolanda?”, he asked after he had sat down on the bumper of the ambulance. 

“She’s fine”, Horatio answered looking around for a paramedic. Eric shook his head no to indicate he didn’t need any medical help but only succeeded in proving he had a concussion. He winced again and pressed his palms to his eye sockets to clear his vision. When he looked up he wondered if he was seeing things again because inexplicably enough his redhead had a smile; a wry smile Eric realised a second later and grinned himself

His grin faded when a Hummer arrived with screeching tires. Eric knew he was going to get the dressing down Horatio had been considerate enough to spare him when Speed got out of the driver’s side looking murderous. At least it wasn’t Calleigh and Speed together was all he had time to think before the trace expert literally grabbed his left shoulder

“I don’t need…”

“I will tie you to the roof of the Hummer”, Speed warned him no trace of any emotion in his tone and Eric knowing his friend’s temper wasn’t something to be trifled with gulped and tried to make himself look as miserable as possible

Horatio snorted then grinned. “Please don’t kill him. I’d hate to have to file the paperwork”, he said and disappeared with a smirk

“For better or for worse all right”, Eric grumbled under his breath

“Here”, Speed said helping Eric sit on the bed, then deposited the meds he’d been given on the table. Picking up the bottle of Vicodin, he shook out two pills and handed his for real miserable friend a glass of water. That the Cuban took them without argument told him just how bad the pain was. Helping him out of his bloody clothes he got Eric into a pair of sweats and flat on his back in no time. “Sleep”, he said gently cupping Eric’s cheek, feeling his heartbeat finally settle down to something resembling normal. The Cuban was giving him too many of these moments lately. 

“Stay”, Eric mumbled and Speed smiled when his friend sounded really young

“Till you fall asleep”, he agreed then settled down for a short wait

“Do redheads go gray?”, Speed asked Horatio as he stepped into boss’ office an hour later

“No, straight to white but I swear if Eric keeps doing this I might be the exception”, Horatio said with another wry smile. “He’s out?”

“Yeah, took the meds without complaint. No concussion, he just needs to rest for a couple of days but I had the doc tell him he was on desk duty for a week”. Horatio nodded listlessly his hands moving around without settling on anything. “You know Calleigh and I can take care of the paperwork right?”

That had the redhead look up. “You mean you can give it all to her”

“Go home Horatio”, Speed said softly. “You need to see him and he’ll stay in bed if you’re next to him”

Horatio hesitated. His desk as per usual was buried beneath a mountain of files. Plus he had the… “Speed”, he said exasperated when Speed wheeled his chair and grasped his elbow. A moment later though he gave in and stood up. “I’ll be reachable on my cell”, he muttered and allowed his friend to lead him out

Eric had no idea how much time had passed when the urgent feeling in his bladder had him wake up. “Eric”, Horatio said from close by startling him. A light came on and he suddenly squinted. The alarm in front of him told him it was 3 and… wait it was three in the morning he realised suddenly and that meant he’d slept for nearly twelve hours. He must have said some of that out loud because Horatio cupping his cheek mumbled something about him needing it. “Bathroom”, he muttered the pressure becoming overwhelming and Horatio helped him up

Finishing his business, he walked back out to see that his redhead had disappeared but before he could wonder too much the smell of soup hit him and his stomach grumbled. Horatio who had been carrying his tray in chuckled and indicated the small table in the corner

It wasn’t exactly breakfast or dinner but Eric barely cared as he dipped the last of his bread into his rapidly disappearing cup of soup. “That was good”, he said wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, too tired to even contemplate moving. 

“C’mon, meds then sleep”. Eric shook his head stubbornly. 

“I slept too much”, he argued but a yawn escaped and Horatio laughed making him glare and cross his arms across his chest. Horatio smothered another round of laughter at the sight of his husband looking like a stubborn teen refusing to go to bed. Not teen, two year old he revised a second later as Eric’s eyes drooped

“C’mon”, he repeated helping the Cuban up. “If you’re really good I might even go in late tomorrow”, he added in a whisper he knew Eric found irresistible and sure enough the young man groaned

“Promise”, he asked losing the battle with the sandman. 

He was asleep before Horatio’s “I promise” could reach him

Morning held a somewhat unpleasant surprise for him as he found his parents in the living room. “Eric”, his mother gasped and Eric who knew he looked a sight in his shorts and undershirt with the bandages on his knee and his arm sighed. 

“Superficial ma”, he said and was really glad Horatio didn’t call him out on it. “Barely needed stiches”. But his mother refusing to be mollified was about to get close when he skirted around her neatly with a mutter of “Coffee”. Refusing to give in to the hurt look on her face he avoided his husband’s knowing gaze and disappeared into the kitchen

“Give us a minute would you”, Horatio requested his in laws before he followed the younger man

“Sorry”, Eric mumbled knowing leaving Horatio with his parents behind hadn’t been fair. 

Horatio understood his husband was hurt more than angry. “Are you ok?”, he asked softly encircling him by the hips and Eric shook his head

“I don’t know who I am”, he said voicing the gnawing feeling that had been in his heart ever since he’d figured out his birth certificate was a fake

“How can you say that?”, his mother asked her shock plain. “You are our son”

Eric kept his gaze fixed on a spot above Horatio’s head. “Did he…?”, he began then wet his lips. “Did he… was it…?” His face went to his hands as he failed to ask the question he needed an answer to

It took Carmen a moment to work out what he wanted. Not knowing if her explanation would upset her son or not, she nonetheless knew she couldn’t keep him in the dark. Eric deserved to know. “No”, she said softly. “No, he did not… he did not hurt me”

Eric’s feeling of confusion weren’t mollified any bit. “C’mon Eric”, Horatio said knowing he needed space. “Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll take you to…”

But Eric for once failed to listen to him. “You said he was a bad guy. Then why would you… How could you…?”

“That is between your mother and me Eric”, Pavel said firmly. 

“No it’s not all right. Not anymore”, Eric spat his short-fuse lit as he moved away from Horatio and towards his parents. “Because at this point… hell you aren’t even my dad”

The slap wasn’t hard. It wasn’t even the worst blow Eric had received in his life. But it still shocked the crap out of him mainly because his dad had never hit him before. Pavel sighed as he lowered his hand. He hadn’t meant to hurt his son any further. But Eric’s words had been a stab to his heart. He had known, he had always known what his wife had done… and yet… and yet he still loved her, loved them both with all his heart

“Pavel”, Horatio said a warning tone to his voice. If there was one thing he did not tolerate it was physical violence against the man he loved

“Forgive me Horatio. And Eric… I… I am really sorry son. I just… I should not have done that. I am really sorry”. Eric, his emotions over the edge, simply stalked off to his room without a word

“You guys need to come back later”

“Horatio”, Carmen said tone pleading. She needed to talk to her son, explain things. She couldn’t have her baby angry at her

Horatio’s face softened. And yet he knew he needed to put Eric first. “Why don’t… why don’t we all cool off a bit. Eric needs time Carmen. He just needs time”, he said hoping his confidence wouldn’t prove to be false

Locking up behind the Delkos, Horatio still took a moment before he entered their room… then rushed in. Eric was sitting on the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he actually sobbed. “I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have said that to him. I shouldn’t have…”. He gasped. “He’s gonna hate me… and… I…”

“Eric stop. Sh, just stop love… just stop”, Horatio said pulling him into a bone crushing hug. “Sh… It’s ok”, he said running his hand up and down Eric’s back. “It’s all right Eric, sh, I have you and it’s all right. You’re ok…” He continued with his litany of comfort till he heard Eric’s sobs fade away, felt the heaving breaths stop

“He’s gonna hate me Horatio. I just… I don’t know why I said that”

“You were lashing out Eric, you were hurt and lashing out. Pavel knows and understands this”

“But… He really isn’t my dad and… I… I was just like ma. I cheated on you which means…”. Horatio hid his wince. He’d been hoping Eric wouldn’t bring that up. “Which means, I’m just… I must be like Sharova too”

“What? Eric, no. How can you say that?’, Horatio asked Eric stunned. How the hell his husband could even compare himself to a mob boss like Sharova was beyond him because Eric was one of the best men he knew. “Eric you… you are without a doubt one of the finest examples of a generous and kind person I have seen and I do not say this just because I love you”. Horatio’s tone held no trace of doubt. “Pavel raised you Eric, and he raised you well”. He changed tack when Eric looked unconvinced. “Eric, do you believe I could ever hurt Kyle?”

“What?”, Eric asked coming out of his daze. “Of course not, why would you…?” He stopped

“Exactly Eric”, Horatio said with a mirthless smile. “My father was… he was an abuser, but it was my mother I looked up to and loved. She raised me Eric, just like Pavel did with you. DNA… DNA does not make you who you are love”

Eric sighed. “I wanna understand Horatio, I wanna accept that. It’s just… I hurt them didn’t I… My dad’s right H, I had no… It was between them, I couldn’t have… Ma…”. His disjointed words prompted Horatio to pull him into another hug

“Sh love, it is ok. For now… for now c’mon. Get dressed, let’s go to work and talk about this in the evening”.

Eric nodded

Amnesia

Eric had never experienced it. Not the way Doug Benson had but the word still brought a chill to his heart because he knew, even if everyone else around him disagreed, that Doug’s story could have just as easily had been his. 

Working with Doug Benson proved harder and easier than he had thought it would be and Eric felt a sense of… peace when they finally had a location. Snapping at Ryan wasn’t his most intelligent move of the day and Calleigh’s lecture was just salt to that open wound. Eric despite the multiple corpses needed to decompress and there was one location he could do that in peace

“Do you empathise with him or relate to him?”

He smiled at the soft question. He’d never been able to hide his feelings from his redhead for too long, even if he tried actively and today he’d been transparent

“They aren’t the same thing?”, he asked mostly to stall as he thought of his answer. On the one hand he knew just like Doug he’d lost a part of his life because of a violent act. On the other hand their ‘witness’ hadn’t had anyone claim him. Not one person had cared enough to help this lost soul. 

Eric knew he was infinitely fortunate to have had the support he did when he’d woken up in the hospital with the belief that his sister was still alive. Horatio had stayed with him every step of the way, taking his surly temper and bad attitude which hid a world of pain, helping him both with his physical therapy and his mental aptitudes, reading to him from forensic journals and ensuring he wouldn’t be too far behind when he finally returned to work. And Eric knew he could never be where he was if he hadn’t had the man he loved more than life itself beside him

“I don’t believe I’m in the same position as him, no”, he said as he finally turned around. The look of love in those blue eyes had him automatically step forward. Making sure their bodies hid the connection, he gently squeezed Horatio’s hand, a poor recompense for the kiss he sorely wanted

“Isn’t this cozy?” Tripp’s teasing question from the door to the office had both men jump apart and Eric wondered how in the hell he’d failed to hear the detective’s heavy tread. 

“I am gonna go… do something else, somewhere else”, Eric decided at the smirk on Tripp’s face. The detective’s laughter followed him on his way out

“Mami, papi”, Eric called out nervously as he walked into his childhood home even as he shot his husband a glare. Horatio had been relentlessly bugging him for the last week ever since his fight with his parents to talk to them, for once refusing to give him the space he was usually generous with

“In here son”. Pavel’s shout had Eric close his eyes gratefully. He hadn’t realised how much he had needed to hear his dad still call him that, but he knew Horatio had. He trod on his husband’s foot childishly when he spotted the knowing grin

“Eric”, Horatio complained just as his parents came out

“Dad, ma”, Eric said his good humour vanishing. “I… Can I… Can I talk to you dad?”, he requested. Pavel complied with a soft smile

“I… I wanted to… I mean…”

“Son stop”, Pavel said when Eric stuttered. “We do not need your apology. We just need to know you’re ok Eric”

“No dad, I behaved… I behaved really badly. I am really sorry. You were right, what happened it’s between the two of you and…”

“And you were the one affected son”, Pavel said even as he caressed Eric’s cheek. “I’m really sorry Eric, I never meant to hit you”

Eric shook his head. “I deserved worse dad. I… I shouldn’t have… I was scared”, he admitted at last. “I was so scared I wasn’t your son anymore and I…”

Pavel hugging him made him stop. “Never say that son, ever”, the Russian said his voice choked. “You are and you always will be my child Eric, never doubt that. Now let’s go see to that saint of a husband of yours and your mother”, he said making Eric smile through his tears

“Dad’s right you know”, Eric said suddenly later that day making Horatio look confused. “He said you were a saint”. That had his redhead blushing. “You know I think we would do well with a dog”, Eric continued changing the subject entirely

“We’d be arresting ourselves for animal cruelty”, Horatio said dryly. “Or I’d have to arrest you. As Speed likes to point out you have the attention span of a two year old and you’d forget to feed that poor thing”

“Hey”, Eric protested as he pulled Horatio in for a kiss then feeling lighter than he had in days pushed his redhead, who was still dressed in the jeans and shirt he had worn to Eric’s parents, into their pool. 

Horatio’s threat of, “You’re a dead man love”, when he emerged looking like a drowned rat didn’t faze him the slightest bit


	9. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far I've stuck to S7 and haven't tried to change canon too much - well not too much apart from having Speed live - but the S6E14 episode where Calleigh puts on that veil was something I loved. Plus Eric was cute in them as well, so that episode is mentioned
> 
> S7E14 is the only episode where I've loved the Calleigh/ Eric ship but I like E/H pairing more so it's Speed who's beside Calleigh's bedside at the hospital

Speed had unlike Eric, never claimed to be romantic. But as he had grumbled once, just because he didn’t kiss and tell as opposed to the part-Cuban didn’t mean he had never dated or didn’t know how to woo a woman. But that was inside a club, or the beach or somewhere when he was just looking for a one-night stand or something that didn’t involve a lot of commitment. His longest relationship had been with a woman named Pam, who he had dated on and off for about six years after he had moved to Miami, with of course the complete understanding that they wouldn’t be tied to each other and would be free to go out with other people if they wanted

Calleigh, though, Calleigh Duquesne had stolen his heart, or at least claimed a large part of his attention the first time he had met her

Calleigh had come into CSI as Horatio’s find. Young, naïve, bubbly – he’d later learn she was neither that young nor that naïve – and incredibly beautiful; her green eyes still captivated him, she had also had a talent for firearms that both repulsed and fascinated him. Speed had always been a scientist first and a cop second – someone a young Tripp would have hated on sight – and guns even the ones they found in the course of their investigations weren’t something he preferred working with. Calleigh though found them enjoyable to the point where she’d earn the moniker of ‘Bullet Girl’

Over the years he had come to genuinely admire and respect the blond purely because of her talent and her drive for justice and while her green eyes still captivated him, it was her heart that he found alluring

Speed as Alexx knew could be one of the most stubborn human beings on the planet had learnt to hide his feelings for the blond to the point where he had lied to himself and everyone around him that he was better off without her. Eric who understood him as well as he understood the part-Cuban had been the only one to call him out on it. But even he had done so only once and had given up when the trace expert had asked him to drop it. His self-deception he knew could have gone on indefinitely, except for one small event

Seth McAdams would kidnap Calleigh

When Speed had tried to contact Calleigh after she had gone out chasing a lead and had heard her voice mail, he hadn’t exactly panicked. After all it wasn’t like there was cellphone service available all over Miami. But when he had learnt what that idiot Cooper had done he had sworn to himself that his heart stopped

It had taken the entire team almost twenty-four hours of working together to find her and in the end Calleigh had mostly rescued herself. Speed whose admiration for her had reached stratospheric proportions had for once listened to his heart and had asked to stay with her just to ensure she was ok

Calleigh hadn’t exactly been open with him that day. Speed had reminded himself that whilst he was stubborn he had nothing on the blond who could shut even Alexx out and well if she wanted to; one of the few areas in which she topped Horatio. But it had felt to him as if the barriers to her heart were coming down; one wall at a time maybe but they were coming down

After about ten years of working together there wasn’t a lot the two of them hadn’t shared. Speed knew of Calleigh’s family and her problems growing up and Calleigh in turn knew he had just as lousy parents who hadn’t even bothered supporting him when his best friend had first been paralysed and then died. Growing up the way they did meant that the two of them had learnt to protect their heart and letting in each other had been hard

And then Horatio had faked his death with Speed – who had become one of their best marksmen after the jewellery store – being the one to fire the shot. He’d been – they both had been – lucky Calleigh and Eric didn’t hate them on sight. But Calleigh, who wasn’t fond of being lied to had found it easier to shut him out again.

That though didn’t mean Speed’s feelings for her which were now out in the open had gone away. So when he watched her put on that veil during the reconstruction, he swore his heart beat double time in his chest, while oddly enough the world around him slowed down as if to let him have this moment just a little longer

“Who was that?”, Horatio asked Eric when the young man had come back into CSI after having said goodbye to Lexa Knowles, the hostess he had helped out earlier

“Who?”, Eric asked almost jumping causing Horatio’s eyes to narrow. “Oh, that… girl… just someone I met on a case?”

“Is she a witness?”

A squirming Eric shook his head no. “Um… I just… just had to… she needed… something”

“Horatio, we got a lead on the weapon”. Speed’s yell had Eric look at the trace expert almost thankfully. “I guess I’ll catch you later”, he mumbled and… fled

“Wasn’t like Angela Morton”, Eric said as he stepped into Horatio’s office a few hours later. Sitting down on the couch he explained how he had met Lexa and how she had asked for his help. “I know it’s not our division and I offered to call…”

“It’s fine”, Horatio interrupted half-amused, half-concerned. “You know I trust you right love?”

“I know…” Eric winced. “It’s not you… it’s her… She…”. He blushed then explained exactly what the young woman had done. “She… she was desperate Horatio and… I didn’t just feel like… I mean if it was Isa or…”

“I know Eric”, Horatio said when Eric trailed off. Wanting to get rid of his husband’s contemplative look he continued, “I get it love. After all I am married to the sexiest man in Miami so I can’t complain when people find you attractive”, he teased making the Cuban blush again

“Shut up H”

“Is there something bothering you Timothy?” The question from Travers, the only person in the lab to call him Timothy apart from Alexx – and she only used it as an equivalent of the middle name when she was pissed – had Speed snort

“Eric come to you?”, he asked knowing the two young men had a tendency to conspire against him

It was Travers’ turn to snort. “No. Should he have?”

“Michael”, he complained. “Don’t you know it’s impolite to answer a question with a question?”

“Did you not just do that?”

Speed groaned. Winning a war of words against Travers – one of the few people in the lab who he got along really well with - wasn’t normally hard for him. But this didn’t seem to be his day. “I just… this case I’ve been on, it’s annoying”

“The one on the race track”

“Hm, hm… It’s just… I met this horse today and he got spooked”. Travers shot him a look. “Horses usually like me”. He realised he was sounding petulant and chuckled. “I used to ride them”

“You grew up around horses”. Speed nodded recalling his time in New York

“There was this… this one horse… Chester… he was mine. Had him since I was a kid. He was a beauty”

“I presume he was known for his speed”, Travers teased well aware of Speed’s obsession with anything that went fast

“No actually”, Speed said surprising him. “My… my family they were… they were big on thoroughbreds but Chester was… he was… not… he was never gonna win races so they wanted to put him down… I made a bargain with them. I’d work in dad’s restaurants on weekends if I got to keep him”

“That was very kind of you Timothy”, Travers said genuinely impressed

‘They’re Grandine truffles. They’re delicious. They’re my favourite and because of that I happen to know you can’t even get ’em in Miami’

It had taken Speed over an hour to find a store nearby – relatively speaking – that would sell them, but that store happened to be three hours away, even for him and his bike. 

Well Eric did promise to take care of two bloaters for him if needed, but he knew this was much better. Now all he had to do was not tell his friend the reason why, so the Cuban couldn’t be a douche about it for the rest of eternity and he’d be golden

“I need a favour”. Normally, Eric would have come up with a teasing retort to Speed’s request but his friend’s serious tone gave him pause. “I need you to cover for me till the end of shift today”

“Ok”, Eric said stretching the word out. “Hey wait”, he said when Speed was about to leave. “What the hell is this about?”. His face sported a teasing grin when Speed blushed. 

“Need to take a ride”

“For?”

“You’re being nosy”

“I know, it’s one of my many talents”, Eric agreed easily. “Need to take a ride where”

“Remember those two bloaters you owe me”

Eric groaned. “Hey, I never said I won’t cover for you”

“Exactly”, Speed said with a smirk then walked away without giving him an answer

“We got Sarnoff”, Horatio informed Eric two days later. “Extortion and bribery for a start but we got him”

“What?”, a dazed Eric asked feeling like he could breathe for the first time in months then stiffened almost immediately when he spotted the look on Horatio’s face. “It’s not over is it?”

“No. Prison isn’t going to stop him. Ivan may be big in Miami, but the people calling the shots aren’t going to back off”

“All right, what now then?”

“We find Sharova”

“You know I’m gonna kill you one of these days myself right?”, Speed asked Calleigh as he found her breathing in oxygen from the equipment in one of the two ambulances still docked in front of the house. “Do not take that off”, he warned her when she wanted to retort but Calleigh never listened to him anyway

“I’m fine and we had to get the evidence out”

“Keep. That. On”, Speed said emphasising each word and while Calleigh glared she did obey this time. “I swear between you and Eric, I’m gonna be dying of heart failure real soon”

“Hey”, Calleigh protested with a bright smile. “I’m not as bad as Eric”

“You’re getting there”

“Well, I tell you what, give me a ride back to CSI, work the case with me and I’ll let you complain all you want”

“Cal”, Speed began but her face told him not to suggest anything remotely related to time off. “Fine”, he said giving in. “But you owe me. And believe me I will collect”. He earned himself an eyeroll and another cheerful smile for that threat

Even the sight of Alexx reaching for the gurney the minute they arrived at the hospital did nothing for Speed’s sanity. Explaining what had transpired at the scene a few hours earlier, he ran in with the doctors not willing to let Calleigh out of his sight. Alexx was keeping him informed every step of the way but his medical training – admittedly from so long ago – seemed to fly out the window. His constant questions finally forced her to order him off the E.R. but Speed protested and would have caused a scene if not for Eric’s arrival.

“C’mon”, Eric said pulling him back with his greater upper body strength. Horatio added pressure on his arm forcing him to move but he still kept Calleigh in sight as long as he could

“She told me she was fine”. His tone was half-pleading, half-angry. “She told me she could work the case and I… I should have taken her straight home”

“This is Calleigh, Speed”, Horatio reminded him knowing how stubborn their ‘Bullet Girl’ could actually get. “When she wants to investigate…”

“I should have fucking ordered her off. I fucking outrank her”. Speed suddenly exploded and slapped the wall in front of him

“It wasn’t your fault all right”, a spooked Eric insisted. 

“Don’t. Just don’t”, Speed warned him and Eric backed off

‘She’s not breathing on her own’. Alexx’s words had been plain but Speed still felt his blood go cold at the oxygen tube shoved down Calleigh’s throat. Walking in required more courage than he had had two years ago to be at the bedside of his friend and he wondered if this was what he had put her through when he had been shot. If it was then she had had every right to hold her heart back all this time. 

At least Eric had provided him plenty of practice when it came to staying with someone unconscious he reflected wryly as he dragged a chair and sat down beside her. Talking to her came naturally and he poured his heart out in a way he never could have had those green eyes been open

“I can’t imagine gonna work without you”, he said as he begged her to get better. “I can’t imagine living my life without you”

“Anything?”, Eric asked him a few… Speed was startled to see that it was a few hours later. 

“No, not yet… She… she still needs… she’s still on nitrous oxide”

“But this is… this is Calleigh right. She’ll get better. She’ll be fine”. It sounded like Eric was trying to convince himself. Speed who still couldn’t get the sounds of her gasping for breath out of his head could only give a non-committal “Hm”

“H and Ryan got the guy”. He stood up determined and Eric quickly rushed to him. “He’s going away for attempted murder, Tim”

“Not good enough”, Speed said tone quite unlike himself scaring Eric

“Tim”, he said sharply. “Calleigh needs you here remember. She needs you in her life”. It wasn’t that Eric didn’t understand. All he had to do was imagine Horatio in Calleigh’s place and… heck he didn’t even have to do that. After all Horatio had gone to Brazil only because he had wanted revenge on Riaz and his redhead had been unwilling to let him make the trip alone. “Look man, I… I am sorry all right, but Calleigh will wake up all right and when she does, she’s gonna be mad as hell if you go off half-cocked”. Speed’s face fell and Eric understanding sighed. “She will wake up. I promise you Speed, she will”

“Baby”

“I won’t leave”

“I’m not asking you to honey”, Alexx said softly as she gently squeezed his shoulder. “But you can come with me for a cup of coffee right”. Speed shook his head, his eyes filling up

“She… um… she’d be alone… and… if she… when she wakes up”, he said firmly. “When she wakes up…”

“And she will baby, Calleigh’s a fighter Timmy. She won’t leave us”. Her voice choked and she stopped. “Now c’mon honey”, she continued when she felt like she could speak without crying. “Brian’s got this project I’ve been dying to tell you about. I mean I’m lost but I’m sure you can help. Just for a few minutes”, she bargained and he finally stood up

“I’ll… I’ll be back in a minute”, he whispered into the blond hair his feelings for once on display for the whole world and Alexx turned her head away from the private moment

He should have known the headstrong blond would wake up when he wasn’t there. He should have never let Alexx drag him away. He should have never… His thoughts stopped as her eyes opened and she smiled not one of her bright fake smiles but a real one

“Hey”, he said his lips turning upward despite himself as emotions warred within him. “I… Alexx… coffee… didn’t mean to…”

“I know”, Calleigh said her smile not faltering as her eyes tracked his movement.

“You… um…”. The question of how was plain on his face before he worked it out. “You… um… you heard”

“Felt like I was in a dream”

Speed froze. If Calleigh had heard… everything. He knew he had two choices. He could back off and let the status quo remain or… 

He recalled her red face and her convulsions, thought about his fear when he had wondered if he would lose her

Suddenly her hand was in his. “It wasn’t”, he said for once not looking away from those beautiful green orbs. “I meant every word Cal”. He took a deep breath. It was now or never. “I really can’t imagine my life without you”

Impossibly enough Calleigh’s smile widened. “Will you stay with me?”

There was only one answer he could give to that. “As long as you want me to”

“You know you guys didn’t have to right”, Calleigh said with a laugh when she entered the house to the smell of good old Southern cooking. Horatio, Ryan and Eric, who seemed to be at the mercy of a knowledgeable Natalia turned at the sound of her voice

“We absolutely should have”, Eric said reaching her first and pulling her into his arms not even minding the fact that, Speed seemed to have attached himself to her and indeed the brunette was still holding on to her left hand

“Calleigh”, Horatio said greeting her with a relieved smile and a nod

“Do not scare us like that again”, Natalia added waiting for Eric to let go before she hugged the blond. She cleared her throat meaningfully when Speed’s hand moved along with Calleigh’s body.

Speed didn’t even deign to acknowledge her and instead helped Calleigh to her room, shooting Ryan who had been wanting his own hug a glare. His look clearly said do not tire her out. Eric who had had plenty of experience with the trace expert in mother hen mode could only laugh. “Oh mami and papi want to see you”, he yelled after her

Speed’s, “Later” and Calleigh’s, “I will smother you with my pillow”, floated out after them

Eric lost his smile a few seconds later. His friends’ emotions had been for once plain and he knew Natalia and Wolfe understood. “Anyone at P.D. asks and this never happened”, Horatio warned them before he could

“Sorry”, Speed apologised the next morning when Calleigh entered the kitchen looking for her cup of coffee. “For yesterday”, he clarified when she looked puzzled at the apology. “I had no right to…”

Her face softened and she smiled. “It’s fine Tim”, she said knowing she had scared him something bad. Speed was usually just as bad as her at locking his heart away and if he had been that open around everyone… “Thank you, for taking care of me”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be Cal”, he said sincerely making her blush


	10. Interlude 3

“Why not tell me?” Speed winced at the hurt tone to Calleigh’s voice. 

It had now been officially twenty-four hours since Eric’s surgery and neither of them had had the heart to stay away. Alexx had of course tried to order them all out but for once they had refused to entertain her concern. Speed, Calleigh and Ryan, knowing there was no way Horatio could concentrate on work had gone back to CSI this morning in an attempt to steer the IAB investigation away from Eric for as long as they could. Ryan realising that the trace expert and the blond were more of a hindrance than help given their mind seemed to be back at the hospital with both their friends had ordered them off the premises at around three

“At this point all you’re doing is throwing meat at the rabid dog that is Stetler”. Speed knowing he had been wrong to have almost punched the IAB Lt. and the only thing holding him back had literally been Tripp’s arms had shot the younger man a contrite expression. “Look guys, even I wanna stay with Eric and I’m not as close to him as you are. So please just go”

“Ryan we can…”. Calleigh stopped at Ryan’s headshake. Exchanging a glance with Speed, who seemed to be just as, if not more worried than her they had both telling him they owed him left without further argument

Stopping to force some food down their throats, knowing Alexx would stick an IV in their arms if she feared they were malnourished and that Carmen and Pavel would help the doctor they had also gotten Horatio a sandwich and a cup of decent coffee but being the brave souls that they were had handed the lot off to Alexx

That had been four hours ago and apart from a brief argument with Eric’s sister Isabella and her husband Jack who happened to work at the same hospital about things which they were least interested in – namely food, fresh air and sleep – they had settled down to wait

“Do not use Stetler as an excuse”, Calleigh warned him and Speed who had been about to do just that shut his mouth with a snap.

“No one knew Cal”, he tried a minute later. “I mean no one at CSI apart from me”

“Tripp knew”

Speed winced again then sighed. “Tripp found out because he walked in on them”

“Wait what?”. The blond turned to him incredulous. “You’re kidding”

A short laugh escaped Speed despite the circumstances. “No”, he said with a headshake. “Eric and Horatio had gotten a little too… active… one day and… well… Frank was supposed to meet Horatio at his place for something I can’t remember now… So Tripp knocks…” – Speed’s face sported a wide grin “Hears all these noises… his detective’s mind goes into overdrive” – Calleigh was grinning as well by now. “Plus Horatio had forgotten to lock the door. He walks in guns blazing and Horatio and Eric are half-naked”. He had to stop a minute to get his laughter under control. “It was a good thing he hadn’t called for backup”

“Wow”, Calleigh said laughing as well. “I hope Eric and Horatio paid for his therapy”

“Nah, Frank’s tough. It was those two who wouldn’t look him in the eye a while”

“Wait when was this”

Speed had been expecting the question. “It was after the pro-per case Cal”

Calleigh looked stunned to say the least

“So what about Marisol”

“What about her?”

“Tim”. Her tone told him she wasn’t in the mood for bullshit

“Marisol and Horatio were never together Cal. Marisol, was… she was a saint. She was one of the very few people who knew how Eric felt about Horatio before even he did”

“But there were rumours…” Speed half-shrugged

“There are always rumours”

“Horatio and Nevins”. Speed winced again

“Eric’s an idiot”, was all he said. 

‘What the hell did you do?’

‘Drop it Tim’

‘Eric, the guy doesn’t do stuff like this, so if he’s going out with Nevins… Yelina’, Speed said suddenly and Eric’s face tightened. ‘How many times do I have to tell you, Yelina and H aren’t together’

‘You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about all right’

‘Yeah I…’

‘Why the hell does he still care if she’s with Stetler then?’

‘Would you want Marisol anywhere near Stetler’. Eric had had the decency to wince

Calleigh calling his name had him focussing on the present. “Yes Eric did date Natalia briefly”, he said before she could ask as he recalled how that relationship had imploded

‘I need to talk to you’

‘Yeah sure’, Speed said ripping off his gloves then did a double take when he saw just how scared his friend looked. Scared and almost… defiant. He sighed. Whatever this was had to be big. ‘Tell me on the way out’

‘What the hell do you wanna do if she is pregnant?’

‘I don’t know’, Eric admitted as he took a sip of his whiskey. ‘I mean… I can’t… I wanna… the child… it’s mine too right… but I can’t ask Natalia to… it’s her body and if she wants to… I got no right to ask her not when it’s my fault’

Speed gently squeezed the Cuban’s arm at the pain he could hear. ‘Takes two to tango kid’, he said repeating the words Eric would tell the DNA tech. 

Eric shook his head still dazed. ‘I’m usually really careful Tim. I can’t imagine…’. His hands went to his head. ‘How the hell did this happen?’

‘I could draw you a picture’, Speed teased almost on auto-pilot. ‘Sorry’, he apologised quickly knowing his joke had been ill-timed. ‘Look kid, what’s done is done and anyway, let’s wait till tomorrow and not borrow trouble’

“When did they first get together?” Ryan’s question coming as if from the end of a tunnel startled Speed who hadn’t even heard the younger man enter. “What? Calleigh said you were telling her about Horatio and Eric”. Speed glared at Calleigh who stared right back. He gave up with a chuckle

“What’s the wager?”

“Tim c’mon, you don’t think we’d be insensitive enough to… I told Calleigh it was right after I came on the team and she said it was after Eric was shot”, Ryan said caving. “And all the guns in the ballistics lab”. 

Speed laughed at the sour look on Calleigh’s face. “What was the exact terms?”

Calleigh sat up straighter. “Are you saying we’re both wrong?”

“Wait what?”

“What was the exact terms?”, Speed repeated

Ryan struggled to recall his words. “How long do you think they’ve been fooling us? That’s what you asked me”, Calleigh said with certainty and he shrugged. “Could be”, he admitted

“You’re both wrong”, Speed confirmed. “And no, it was before either of you guessed, that’s all I’m saying. If you want anything more go to the source”


	11. Chapter 7

“Alexander Sharova seems to be a ghost”, Horatio announced to Speed, Frank, Eric and Sevilla as they sat in the redhead and the Cuban’s kitchen. “My source has looked into him and can’t find anything on him till 1960”

“Neither can the Feds”, Speed confirmed as he dropped a package he’d received. “This is everything they had. Nothing on his time in Cuba though. He suddenly seemed to have come to the US in the eighties but since he was low level he wasn’t of much interest to anyone”

“Wait the Feds?”

Frank ignored Eric’s stunned question. “If Sharova’s an active member of the Russian mob no one’s in a hurry to confirm it. I can’t get a location on him either”

“Wait go back to the part where you got someone in the Feds to do something for you”, Eric said pointing to Speed who had a smug smirk on his face

“Let’s focus”, Horatio ordered though the slight upturn of his lips told Eric he was amused as well. “Sharova wants you dead and is willing to go through any lengths for it”, he admitted as his small smile vanished. “Plus Jason Long, now that Sarnoff is in jail is not willing to acknowledge even the existence of his offer”

“So we’re on our own. Works for me”, Sevilla said with a shrug. “Not as if Long was any help before”

“He’s still planning something Adele”, Eric said worried. “Plus he’s the only other person who has access to my birth certificate apart from us. Maybe we should go to ICE ourselves”, he suggested as he had before

“That’d put you right in Sharova and the Russians’ crosshairs kid”, Speed pointed out

“Not as if I’m not on it already and this could hurt the lab Tim”, Eric retorted

“I will handle the lab”, Horatio said firmly. “In the meantime the city wants to revoke your protection detail”

“And the hits just keep on coming”, Eric muttered worried his redhead would take him off the field. Horatio sighed as if he had read his husband’s mind

“Stay close to one of us and do not go on a callout alone till we find Sharova”, he ordered and couldn’t help but smile at Eric’s relieved nod

If there was a defence attorney who had a good relationship with cops, Eric had yet to meet them but types like Derek Powell, who gave new meaning to the word sleazy was someone he could actively hate just as much as the criminal scum the lawyer helped get off. Powell was smart and dangerous so the team had been extremely careful when compiling the evidence against Alfonso Reyes their prime suspect. 

Reyes had been convicted, Eric had done his civic duty and was contemplating an early exit to a bar with Tim when Horatio called from the Crime Lab

“So wait, you’re saying Reyes is innocent?”, he asked his boss stunned a few minutes later. “How is this possible?” Horatio explained his theory and sent them off to find the original crime scene; something they hadn’t been able to do months ago. 

Great, Eric thought as he left the lab with Ryan, this one was going to get messy

“Aren’t judges… at least the ones not guilty of murder usually on our side?”, Speed asked Horatio sarcastically after they had been categorically denied a warrant for Kevin Sheridan’s DNA

“You think this is another Ratner situation?”

“Don’t you?”, Speed shot back and his lips thinned

“Let’s… let’s keep an eye on Sheridan all right”

“I’ll take care of it”, the trace expert promised

“Wolfe’s innocent”, Speed said firmly as Ryan exited the building his anger and disappointment evident

“Yes well, Rick’s refusing to take our word for it”, Horatio said his eyes on the young CSI’s badge and gun. “That’s the third time I’ve had to do this to him Tim”

“He was an ass and deserved it the first couple of times. But you’re right that bastard Powell’s the one pulling the strings. Asshole knows his client’s guilty and he has Judge Thorpe in his pocket”

“We need to find our witness Tammy. Ryan thinks Sheridan has her and this time we have enough for a warrant”

“You and Eric take the car. I’ll get Calleigh, look into the guy’s assets. See if he could have stashed her anywhere else”

“So what this was just like another Ratner?”, Eric asked Speed and Horatio as he drank his coffee in the breakroom the next morning after Sheridan and the judge had been arrested

“That’s what I said”, Speed muttered

“Look who’s back”, Calleigh exclaimed walking in with a very happy Ryan

“Mr. Wolfe”

“H”, Ryan said with a nod. “Glad it was only for a day this time”, he added pointing to his creds

“I’ll drink to that”, Eric said toasting him with his coffee. “What I need someone here to do the dirty work and I outrank you and speaking of dirty work”, he added as he dumped his cup and dragged Ryan off by the collar. “We still have the evidence from the canal to go through”

“I wanna be suspended again”, the three senior investigators heard Wolfe yell and chuckled

“There’s my little princesa”, Eric said as he picked his now five year old niece up and threw her in the air then caught her making her giggle

“Hey baby brother, Horatio. Thanks for coming”, Isabella said giving them both a hug. “Where’s Tim?”

“He’s got something going on in the lab”, Eric said with a grin that basically conveyed to everyone that he was lying. Horatio knew his husband had the worst poker face out of the lot of them but this time he had a feeling the lack of deception had been on purpose

“And that’s not interesting at all”, Ariessa his middle sister commented making the Cuban laugh. “So out with it, we know you’re bursting to tell us”

“I promised Speed I wouldn’t”. Horatio pinched the bridge of his nose annoyed

“If Speed kills you, I will write it up as self-defence”, he warned the part-Cuban who rolled his eyes

“What, it’s not as if Ari and Isa are idiots”, he said with a pointed look at his sisters

Both women screamed excitedly drawing everyone to the living room. “Ari, Isa”. Carmen’s tone told them they’d better have an explanation she’d be ok with

“Tim asked Calleigh out”, they both yelled at the same time

“How the…”, Speed who had just entered reconsidered his words as he caught sight of the bemused birthday girl and the rest of the little Delko brood. “How did you guys know that?”

“Oh Eric told us”

“What no”, Eric said glaring at Isa. “She’s lying. I never said a word about you and Calleigh”

“But you implied it”

“Traitor”. Eric pouted at his husband making the rest of them chuckle. “See Nita”, he added as he knelt beside his niece and pulled her into a hug. “Your uncle Horatio doesn’t love me anymore”

“Very mature love”, Horatio said as he rolled his eyes

Horatio kept an eye on Eric during the entire party not just because of the recent scares but because of the longing he could see in the young man’s eyes. This was it, he realised. This was the reason Eric had been… upset… recently. This was what was bothering him. Eric wanted what his sisters had. He wanted a family with kids

Only Horatio wasn’t sure he could grant the Cuban his wish

This time it was Eric’s turn to find Horatio brooding in their backyard. “What is it?”, he asked his husband softly later that night and wasn’t too surprised when Horatio shook his head no. “H talk to me”, he implored. “You’ve been quiet since the party”

“I do love you, you know. Very much”, Horatio said suddenly making him frown

“H, I was… with Nita… that was a joke. I know you love me”

“I… I’m… I’m glad to hear it”

“Then what is it?”, Eric asked officially worried. Horatio looked… he looked scared. “H if it’s Sharova… I trust you, Speed and the rest of the lab to protect me”

“I know”, Horatio agreed but the fear in his eyes didn’t go away

“Isa and Ari missed you”, Speed said as he placed the bag of food Carmen had sent with him on the kitchen table

“I know. I’m sorry but someone needed to be at the lab today and I know Horatio wanted to go”

“Yeah”, Speed mumbled suddenly tongue-tied knowing Calleigh was curious about Horatio’s closeness to the Delkos. He knew the whole lab believed Horatio had been with Marisol. The rumours of them having married in secret had flown about for a while till he and Eric had put a stop to them. “Anyway, Carmen sent you some Cuban food”, he added stating the obvious trying to change the subject in the process. Calleigh shot him a look and he fought to keep his face normal. 

“Yeah ok”, she said slowly then smiled a bright smile he knew was fake. He resisted the urge to groan

“I know why the fuck I look like hell, so why the hell do you?”, an extremely grumpy Eric asked him the next day from the entrance to the layout room

“What the fuck do you want?”

Eric didn’t let the tone bother him. “Picked out a gift for Valentine’s Day yet?”, he asked instead with a grin

Speed glared for a second before his shoulders slumped. “You’re assuming we’ll be together till then”, he muttered startling the Cuban

“What the hell do you mean?”, Eric asked him worried a hand on Speed’s arm. “Tim tell me”. Speed managed a half-reassuring smile

“It’s fine kid. Nothing I can’t handle”, he said knowing he could never let the Cuban know his problems had to do with keeping his secret. Eric as he had claimed several times, had a stupid bleeding heart and would never get over the guilt

In the end he went with the traditional dinner at a fancy restaurant which he knew she’d enjoy mainly because he’d caught her talking to Natalia about the place. And while he had – with the pessimism Eric claimed he was born with – expected the evening to be a disaster, he must have done something right, he reflected because suddenly Calleigh was smiling that real smile again

“I…”, he began uncomfortably later that night as they began the slow walk in search of a cab. “I know I don’t… I’m not the most open person on the planet… but…”

“It’s fine Tim”, Calleigh said but he shook his head

“No it isn’t Cal and I get it… but… I am trying to… I… If I don’t tell you some things… I just… I know it’s hard for you to take my word for it… but… I’m not trying to hide Cal, I promise”, he finished knowing he hadn’t actually given her anything concrete

Calleigh to his surprise smiled again. “How long have we been working together?”, she asked him and he blinked

“Um… ten years give or take a few months”

“Almost twelve”, she corrected and he realised she was right. She chuckled before she continued. “I know, you’re used to… to guarding your heart. It’s fine”, she said quickly. “I’m the same too but… I do trust you Tim. I trust you with my life”

‘But do you trust me with your heart?’ The question remained unasked and unanswered

“Going for cheesy again?”, Eric asked Horatio when he found the house filled with candles and soft music. “And when the hell did you get the time to do this?”

“Why do you think I sent you out on that Glades call out love”. Horatio’s whisper was suddenly too close and he groaned. Horatio seemed to find his reaction amusing and chuckled

“So… um… you… we…”, Eric fumbled as his redhead wrapped his arms around his hips

“You were saying love. Happy Valentine’s”, he added when Eric groaned again. The Cuban his frustration boiling over turned around in his husband’s arms and captured those inviting lips in a heated kiss

They ate dinner in bed. “Not the romantic atmosphere I was going for, especially for our first Valentine’s day as a married couple”, Horatio said tone complaining but the smile around his lips implied he wasn’t exactly put out by the situation

“Forget romance”, Eric teased having regained the use of his tongue. “Steamy sex is more of what I wanted”

“Dessert on a tray is sexy?”

“No, but when it’s on you…”, the Cuban said with a wink making Horatio turn as red as his hair

“Oh man, you got laid didn’t you?”

“I hate you”, Eric sniped but couldn’t keep the smile off his face

“What?”, Ryan retorted. “You only have that look when you’ve been with a hot girl, so out with it”

“I will kill you”, Eric said as he pushed Ryan towards the Hummer but then stopped

“Yeah I feel it too”, Ryan said suddenly serious as he looked around wondering if anyone would be stupid enough to tail them to a scene filled with cops. His hand went to his radio to call his boss but Eric beat him to it

“H, we got a problem”

Horatio had from an early age thanks to his mom learnt that women could be just as tough, if not more so sometimes than men. That knowledge had been an asset to him when he had become a commanding officer because he reflected, he might otherwise have let his sense of chivalry – which he had been accused of by all of his ex lovers and his current husband – underutilise their abilities. And even if everyone around him complained that he was more likely to take on a dangerous piece of assignment himself and lead from the front that had more to do with the fact that he had always considered himself more expendable than the rest of his family

But as a commanding officer he had also learnt to concede that he couldn’t protect everyone from everything and in any case his sister-in-law as she had made it clear when she had come back from Brazil, would do what she had to to support her son. So when he had needed someone to infiltrate the Russians he hadn’t hesitated to call her even at the risk of being labelled controlling. He knew he’d rather she worked for him than for some unknown character who might in the guise of a job end up hurting her

“Anything new?”, he asked her as he met her on one of the numerous bridges dotting Miami

“Yes”, Yelina said with her eyes on the water. “Thanks to the information you got out of Katie Walsh, I have been able to make contact with someone who could potentially lead us to Sharova. His name is Kasparov”

“You can ask me Yelina”, Horatio said seeing the question on her face

But Yelina who had always known him almost as well as Tripp only smiled. “He is important to you. Eric, I mean”

“He means the world to me”, Horatio confessed softly not wanting to hide this from the only family he – sort of – had by blood

“I’m glad you have found someone again Horatio”, she said as she kissed his cheek then stepped back. “I will call you when I make contact”, she promised

“Hey, you’re home earl…”

“What?”, Horatio asked wondering why Eric had suddenly stopped speaking then became startled at the flash of anger on his husband’s face. “Love?”

“Nothing I… Dinner’s gonna be a few. I just need to heat up…”

“Eric”, Horatio said when Eric wouldn’t even look at him. “What is it?”

“You have lipstick on your cheek”. The Cuban’s voice was cold and Horatio resisted the urge to both laugh and become angry. It seemed after all of these years the younger man could still get jealous and possessive

“Yes? And?”, he asked knowing he was deliberately being an ass and indeed the shock on Eric’s face as he whirled around said so. His anger won out and he was the one glaring. “You consider that I might have a friend do that?”

“And if I wanted to know who this friend was?”, Eric challenged

“And if I didn’t tell you would you still trust me when I said it was meant as a friendly gesture?”

“Horatio”, Eric said frustrated

“Either you trust me or you don’t”, Horatio snapped feeling the long few days getting to him. “Giving you a name would change nothing”. Eric unwilling to accept this stalked off to the back and the pool slamming the door shut behind him. “Wonderful”, Horatio muttered pinching the bridge of his nose

He came out of the shower a few minutes later making sure his face was clean and he smelt like his cologne and aftershave instead of perfume and salty air. He knew he was being paranoid but given the fact that they both seem to be wound tight he did not want to start another fight.

Taking two beers with him mostly as an act of conciliation, he walked to the backyard to find Eric missing. Searching the rest of the house and realising it was empty he wondered where in the hell the younger man had gotten off to. He called his husband’s cellphone only to hear it ringing from the chair by the pool. Disbelief warred with rage when he realised Eric had left the house without any means of communication. Sharova’s men were still out there and they were still after him

Letting loose a few curses he pressed speed dial 2. “Speed, it’s H”, he said when his trace expert answered. “Eric’s gone”


	12. Chapter 8

A BOLO on the Cuban’s car as a last resort led Speed to a bar in a not so nice part of town. Felling just as mad as Horatio he nonetheless tried to control his temper as he approached his obviously inebriated friend. At least Eric hadn’t been stupid enough to wear his badge and gun out in the open

“One more”, Eric said as he slammed his glass on the table

“Actually he’s done”. The bartender hesitated but Speed’s creds made him back off. He dropped a hundred on the table, saw the number of glasses, reconsidered and placed another fifty before he grasped Eric’s arm. “Don’t even think about doing anything other than walking to the car with me”, he warned his friend. “I won’t hesitate to cuff you and trust me no one here’s gonna even blink if I do that”. Eric tried to open his mouth but Speed beat him to it. “Say something about how I shouldn’t care and I will knock you out”.The Cuban gave up and allowed his friend to lead him out

To Eric’s surprise, Speed didn’t take him home. Rather they ended up at a beach near the trace expert’s place. “Wanna tell me what happened?”

“Didn’t H already tell you?”, he snapped feeling the salty air clearing his head; the opposite of what he actually wanted. Speed groaned frustrated. He was missing date night with Calleigh for this. “What the hell did you tell her?”, the Cuban asked as if he had read his mind

“That you were drunk and passed out in a bar. H called me in a panic. We had to put out a BOLO on your car”. Eric looked at him in sheer disbelief

“You what? Everyone at P.D…”

“Yeah well, you left your phone at the house. The Russian mob already took potshots at you”

“So what, we’re safe on this beach. Why the fuck just not throw me in a holding cell”

“If that’s what you want sure”, Speed growled. “Given exactly how stupid you’re being maybe that’s the best place for…”. He stopped when Eric turned away looking betrayed. “The BOLO said your car might have been stolen and to not approach it if found. I told Calleigh you had a problem with a girl. Look kid, you scared Horatio something bad all right. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry kid… I just…”

“No, it’s fine. You’re right, I deserved it”. It was Speed’s turn to look away when Eric swiped at his eyes. 

“Wanna tell me what happened?”, he repeated when Eric managed to get himself under control

“Why so you can tell me I overreacted”. Eric sighed. “Look I already know I did that all right. I don’t need you…”

“You do know I’m your friend right kid?” He saw Eric’s jaw work furiously. “C’mon I’ll take you home and…”

“Condo. I wanna go to the condo”. Speed’s gaze shifted to behind him.

“I think you should tell Horatio that”, he said getting up. “You don’t mind if I borrow your car right?”, he added flippantly and ignoring Eric’s call of “Tim”, walked off

It was barely a few seconds later that Horatio sat down beside him. Eric feeling both defiant and guilty couldn’t meet his eyes. “I’m sorry”, he said softly knowing Speed was right about one thing. He must have scared Horatio something bad because his redhead looked as far away from put together as he could be and he couldn’t remember the last time that happened. Horatio didn’t answer immediately and he panicked. “H… I… Should I…? Should I go away?”

“Is that what you want?” Horatio regretted his words almost immediately. “I’m sorry Eric, that’s not what I meant to say. But I don’t know how… I don’t know how I’ve hurt you”

“You didn’t all right. I overreacted and I… I’m sorry. This whole thing with Sharova it’s driving me nuts”

“Yes but you’ve been upset with me a while. This is about the adoption isn’t it?”

“H”, Eric protested his defences going back up. “What the hell do you want me to say? You’ve made your position quite clear. And I’m not… that’s not… God this is fucked up. Yes it hurts. No that’s not what this is about”

“Eric I…”

“H please”, Eric interrupted him. “I get it ok. And we can’t do a damn thing right now anyway. Not with the mess I created. I don’t know what to do”, he continued tone defeated. “I’m just… I don’t know what to do so I won’t lose all of you”

“You won’t Eric. You know we will catch Sharova”

“I’m not talking about Sharova”

“Guess where our next crime scene is?”, Speed asked Eric a week later. Eric who had been coming into the lab looking like death warmed over most days just lifted his head up from the scope. “Derek Powell’s boat. His fiancé was just murdered”

He cursed. “Exactly what we need. More scrutiny”

“We’ve got a problem”, Calleigh informed Horatio a day later

“I’m listening”

“Someone sent us an anonymous copy of this”, she said handing him a document

“That’s… that’s Speed’s…”. Horatio crumpled the paper. 

“I take it you know” Horatio was more surprised Calleigh did, even if they were dating. Speed was an extremely private person and he had only told the redhead because he didn’t want the lab affected. The blond smiled. “We… we shared a lot… when I joined the lab”. Speed had been the first person to know of her father’s alcoholic tendencies

“This… this was expunged but if someone in the media were to get a hold of this…”

“I know. I’ve already got Ryan tracing this and no I didn’t tell him of the contents”

Horatio nodded. He trusted her sense of discretion. “Someone’s trying to warn us”

“You think it’s the case?”

“Could be”, Horatio admitted but he also knew it could just as easily be…

“Is this about Eric and his shooting?” His lips stretched into an involuntary smile. Calleigh was one of his best after all

“I… um… I don’t know yet”, he admitted. 

“Is that why he’s been staying at your place? Because he’s still in danger? Unfortunately there’s chatter among patrol. They’ve been posted at your house a while and were only pulled off a week ago”

Horatio hesitated but knew he could use someone else to keep an eye on his wayward husband after all. “It’s the Russian mob Calleigh. Now I understand if you…”

“Please don’t say that Horatio”, Calleigh interrupted him. “He’s one of my best friends and I care about him very much so no, I won’t back off. I just hope we can keep him safe”

“Me too ma’am”, Horatio said softly. “Me too”

“So far the only suspect we got is Vogel but he has his story down pat”, Speed reported that evening. “Natalia and I went through the boat but nothing suspicious”

“What about Powell’s laptop?”

“Well the two morons claim they know nothing. Tripp’s still questioning them but so far it looks like a dead end”

“So we got… Rick”, Horatio said when the door to his office opened and Stetler poked his head in

“Good you’re here too”, Stetler said spotting Speed. “I need your gun and badge”

“You what?”, Speed snapped. “Why the fuck would I give you that?”

“Rick, if this is about…?”

“His record? Yeah”

“That was expunged”, Speed said voice a low growl. 

“Yes well, the case is being…”

“It’s going nowhere Stetler. Last I checked I do not have an arrest jacket. I can’t work here if I did”

“Perhaps Megan made an exception for you”, Stetler speculated his meaning plain. “I mean, she was willing to give you a job even before you were out of college, so perhaps she…”

“She what?”

“Tim”. Horatio’s tone had him backing off. “You do not have any proof of wrong doing sergeant”

“I don’t need it Lt. The brass feels it would be best if Speedle were to not handle a high profile case like this, not with a warrant with his name on it circling out there”

Speed’s mind whirred as he considered what Stetler was saying. “Powell”, he realised

“Or someone connected to the case. This is what they wanted”

“What are you talking about?”

“Speed was the one to collect the evidence on the boat, Vogel happened to find so if were to somehow link the man to Nadine’s murder…”

Even Stetler wasn’t idiotic enough or petty enough to not see the connection. “We can’t hold him because he could go in front of a judge and claim tainted evidence”

“Hm, hm”, Horatio agreed standing up. “We need to know how someone got a hold of an expunged record”

“And why that person doesn’t want us to question Vogel”

“So wait, Speed’s off the case?”, a shocked Eric asked Horatio when they gathered in the layout room.

“Yes Eric he is. What did you find on Powell’s boat?”

Eric needed a minute to calm down and answer Horatio’s question. “If this is an inside job, I’m not seeing it. I think it went down exactly as Powell described it”

“The bullet Tara gave me. I analysed it”, Calleigh continued. “Shot came from the water. Specifically from underwater”

“Wait a minute are you saying…?”

“She was shot by someone in a dive suit”, Horatio finished Eric’s stunned question

“Most likely yes”, Calleigh said. “That or a submarine”. That earned her an eye-roll from the Cuban

“We’ll disregard any underwater vehicles for now. Eric, I want you back in, I need you to find me any trace of this assassin whoever he or she is tomorrow”

“You got it H”

“You know you could have told me right?”, Eric asked his friend when he found him in the locker area

Speed shrugged his shoulders. “It was a misunderstanding with an asshole. Wasn’t worth mentioning”

Eric did know his friend well enough after all. “Is that how you see it?” 

“No”, Speed answered finally. “If… if you ask me if I regret hitting him then no, it was self-defense which was why the charges were dropped, but if you ask me if I regret this coming back and biting me in the ass…?”

“You told H what happened Speed. You didn’t blindside him. Plus like you said, you didn’t start the fight. Heck that’s more than what I would have done”

“Not a very high bar there kid”, Speed teased him then looked around to make sure they were alone. “You and H, you guys work things out”

Eric’s silence was very telling. “I don’t know how to”, the young man admitted at last honestly. “I just… I don’t know how to fix this”

“Do you think what you have is worth it kid?”

“You know I do Tim. What I have with him. It’s everything to me”

“Then you’ll find a way”, Speed said confidently patting his back. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I got a dinner to prepare”

Eric’s “You’re whipped man”, followed him out

Eric would be the next one to take a hit. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement is issuing a non-citizen’s action against you”. The Cuban’s blood went cold when he heard this. His birth certificate… If someone had gotten a hold of Speed’s arrest record then it stood to reason they had his birth certificate. Speaking of the trace expert…

“All right back off. I’ll come with you”, Eric spoke over all of them when Speed came close to getting himself arrested as well. “Look call H, Tim. Have him handle this”

“Eric…”

“Please do as I say”, Eric begged and walked off with the agents from ICE

“Lt. I don’t see how I can…”

“You said if Eric helped you with the Russian mob…”

“That I wouldn’t go to ICE Lt.”, Jason Long interrupted him. “I never said anything about doing something illegal”

“Technically holding on to his birth certificate and not doing anything about it is illegal”. Jason Long glared at Tripp. 

“I need Eric out of that holding facility. He’s a target for the Russians in there”

“Look Lt. I can’t just…”

Horatio spoke over the Federal Agent. “You do not want to make an enemy of me Mr. Long. You will get Eric out of that facility and released into my custody”

“Fine”, Long caved. “I’ll get him out of holding but I am not intervening in his citizenship mess. That’s your problem”

“Thank you”, the redhead said not minding Long’s scowl one bit. “Frank contact ICE, then get Eric to the house. Post a guard there again. I’ll handle anything from Ric or the Chief”

“You got it Horatio”

Speed was waiting for Eric at the house. “Are you…?”

Eric shook his head no. “I… I’m gonna grab a shower. I just… Mami and papi make sure they don’t…”

“They don’t know kid”, Speed interrupted him. “H took care of it. Don’t worry about them all right”

“Yeah I… Shower”, he mumbled again then disappeared

“Did you hire Vogel to kill Nadine Mr. Powell?”, Ryan asked the lawyer whose jaw worked

“Why would you even think…?”

“Because Eric Delko’s birth certificate came from your laptop”, Horatio answered showing him the document

Powell sighed. “Look you guys came at me real hard when it came to Sheridan…”

“Sheridan was a murderer who bought off a judge. And because you used this…”

“Why the hell would I do that? I want Nadine’s killer caught. And I don’t see how my having this document is relevant?”

“You can probably guess”, Ryan said sarcastically. “But with Eric Delko arrested, the evidence he collected against Vogel is useless”

“It was just…”

“What leverage? Speaking of…” – Ryan opened another document. “I’m curious, how did you get your hands on a warrant from almost fifteen years ago? This one would have been a lot easier. I only stopped gambling two years ago but still…”

“What can I do to prove to you guys I didn’t have anything to do with Nadine’s murder. You guys may not believe me but I’m not behind this. I want whoever it is caught as much as you do”

“So what you’re gonna restore Eric Delko and Tim Speedle’s credibility?”

“If I have to Officer Wolfe”, Powell said pulling out his phone but it was Horatio’s instrument that would bring him the good news

“What the hell is he doing here?”, Eric asked Horatio and Speed stunned when he found Alexander Sharova in their living room two days later. Horatio in answer handed him a document, a document that said Eric was a legal citizen of the United States. He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face

“How did you pull this off H?”

“It wasn’t me”

“What’s he doin’ here?”

“He’s here for you”

Sharova nodded and Eric couldn’t help but nod back

“It’s still not over is it?”, Speed asked Horatio as they kept an eye on Eric and Sharova conversing out back

“Nope”, Horatio said. “At least we’re out from under Long’s thumb. He has nothing on Eric from now”

“Yeah but still this asshole, he has another agenda”

“I agree. Eric’s not gonna like it but…”

“You pull him off the field and he’ll quit”. Horatio knew Speed was right but he still couldn’t help the flash of anger

“How else am I supposed to keep him safe then?”

“You can’t H. Look I don’t know what’s going on between you two, he’s shut me out but I do know if you smother him, he’ll run, so please don’t do that”, Speed begged as he walked out of the house leaving a tired Horatio behind


	13. Backstory 1

“Eric thinks parts of the bomb were counterfeit. He’s gone to chase a lead”, Speed informed Horatio when they gathered in the layout room. It didn’t take him long to put the pieces together to figure out the impound lot was where most of their evidence had come from. “Delko said he had a contact at the lot. A guy named Charlie Berger or something”

Horatio’s head snapped up. “Berenger?”

“Yeah could be. Why?”

“Because he’s a former member of the bomb squad”. Horatio was already on the move. “Al fired him in ’98. Speed find Eric”

By the time he’d reached the Hummer he wasn’t too surprised to hear the trace expert say the Cuban’s phone was off. “Last tower it pinged off of was close to the airport. Eric received a call from the impound lot”

“I got this Speed, thanks”

“We should stand down and wait for backup Horatio, this is not a good plan”. Horatio had somehow expected Megan to follow protocol even in a situation like this, but what she couldn’t understand was that he could have never remained on the side. Not when one of his own was in danger

“He’s already killed Al, Megan. I’m not gonna let him take Eric from me too. I’m goin’ in”

Eric was waiting for him as was Charlie. The pipe bomb was wrapped around the Cuban’s neck like some sort of a sick bowtie on a present. Only Horatio was sure this device wasn’t filled with sand

“Horatio”

Horatio forced himself to avoid looking too closely at Eric’s face and the bruise on it. It seemed the young CSI had put up a fight. He also made himself smile and relax. He knew if he had any chance of getting the both of them out of this alive he couldn’t afford to give in to his emotions. “Charlie B”

The banter gave him the cover to move a few steps forward and towards his CSI but if Charlie noticed he didn’t seem too concerned. Instead he did the same and placed Eric between himself and the redhead

“Everybody has a bad day. Today could be mine and in trying to get Eric out of this I could end up killing us all”

“You think I can’t get him out of this?”

“I couldn’t”. He shied away from those scared brown orbs. “I couldn’t find the safe rendering switch”

“Yeah well it’s easy to miss”. His eyes went to the toothpick on Charlie’s lips and the device around Eric’s neck. He smiled and suddenly Eric stood tall and looked confident again. He struck before the smug expression on Charlie’s face faded. 

“Stop Eric”, he ordered and Eric stilled instinctively even if all he wanted to do was rip the damn thing off his neck. “Turn around please. We’re clear”, he added as he removed the necklace bomb slowly. “You ok?”, he asked as Megan cuffed Charlie and shot the Cuban a warm smile. Eric managed a nod as he bent down, his hands on his knees, in an attempt to regulate his breathing. “You ok?”, he repeated as he forced the Cuban to meet his eyes. “Eric look at me. None of this, absolutely none of this is on you, all right?”

“I… I made it… I made it easy for him”

He didn’t know where the thought came from but instead of providing a verbal answer he caressed the bruise on the Cuban’s cheek. “That’s a no Eric”, he said as he guided Eric out and into the light.

“You should go home Eric”, Horatio said when he found Eric in the print lab later that night. “Get some rest”. His CSI somehow seemed older to him and he wasn’t sure he liked that

Eric managed a half-nod. “Just… just some paperwork to catch up on”. 

He didn’t bother calling out the obvious lie and wondered if Eric was somehow still shaken up. “C’mon”, he said instead as he held out a hand. “Let’s go grab a beer”

Eric looked startled by the invitation. “Ugh no H, I… I’m fine. I don’t need…”

‘I don’t need a babysitter’. That was what Horatio knew his CSI had meant to say. Perhaps that’s how Eric had gotten rid of Speed because he had seen the trace expert hovering when they had come back from the impound lot. “Yeah well I could use a drink and some company”. He could honestly say he was speaking the truth. Somehow he could use Eric being closeby for a few hours because he knew if he went back home right now, he’d end up having nightmares. “C’mon”, he repeated, knowing Eric wouldn’t dare disobey him a second time

They went to their regular haunt not far from CSI and found Speedle, Tripp, Calleigh and Megan there. Eric turned accusing eyes to him but Horatio was just as bemused. He’d thought they’d all left hours earlier. Then he saw a disgusted Tripp hand a triumphant Speed 10 bucks and knew he’d been set up. Speed had known he’d check on Eric. He couldn’t help either the eye-roll or the smile. 

Eric had figured it out too and socked Speed one on the arm but when he went for a second one the trace expert caught him. “Sit, drink”, he ordered and Eric rolled his eyes as well

Somehow the two of them ended up being the last ones in the bar and Horatio’s hypothesis was confirmed. Eric wasn’t looking forward to being alone tonight either. At CSI he knew he’d have had the night shift. He stood up and tilted his head and a confused Eric raised an eyebrow. Horatio didn’t offer an invitation. Either Eric would read the message or he wouldn’t. Eric hesitated but followed his boss out

“Thanks”, the Cuban said as Horatio handed him another beer. “But maybe I should switch to coffee?” It was meant as a question

“Not if you stayed”, Horatio said honestly. He saw Eric’s mind whirr but somehow the confidence he wore around him like a cloak came back too.

“I could”, he said with the air of someone used to having the upper hand in similar situations. “If that’s what you want too”

Horatio smiled. Though he was sure he couldn’t come close to matching the Cuban’s numbers he was older after all and had seen more of life. “And if I said yes?”

The first chink in the armour showed. Eric hadn’t expected a positive response and certainly not the firm one he recognised in those blue eyes. “Then I’d ask if this was because of what happened today?”

Horatio couldn’t help the chuckle when he realised what his words would be. “And if I said no”

Eric smiled amused. “You know this could get very complicated, very fast”

“It could”, Horatio admitted honestly. He was Eric’s boss after all. But he also couldn’t deny that he found the young Cuban attractive. “Or it could be simple”, he said as he caressed the bruise again. “I like you Eric”, he said spelling it out and was surprised when Eric blushed. He had somehow misread the young man, he realised. Eric was both less and more innocent when it came to affairs of the heart. “How about…”. Eric’s impatience boiled over and his sentence was cut off with a quick kiss

Eric woke up later than he expected the next morning, especially considering he had slept in a new place. But he also couldn’t deny that this was the best sleep he’d had since leaving his parents’. Horatio’s bed was really comfortable

And speaking of his boss and last night’s lover… 

Horatio was waiting for him in the kitchen dressed in all black. Eric couldn’t help but drool at the sight. The redhead looked amazing in the suit. Then he realised the significance of the colour. “Lt. Humphries”

Horatio nodded. “I… I was hoping for dinner sometime”

Eric took the hand he held out and nibbled the bottom lip. “I’d like that”


	14. Chapter 9

“I wanna go on a vacation”

“What?” Horatio who had come to check on Eric after Sharova’s departure asked

“A vacation”, Eric repeated amused. “With you of course”

That earned him an eye-roll. “I had presumed it might be with some other redhead”

“Don’t know any other redheads”, Eric muttered as he pulled Horatio on to his lap. “At least none that’d make me feel like this”

The only sounds for the next few moments were of the two men’s lips meeting. “A vacation does have merit”, Horatio said when they came up for air. “Imagine, you, me, a sunny beach, water, no other people and not a lot of clothes”

“You just described our pool”

“I did say a beach didn’t I?”

“Nah, I wanna go to New York”, Eric countered then kissed the redhead again. “I wanna know where you grew up”

“We’d have to wait a little longer love”, Horatio pointed out. “How about we go the Keys later this month and save New York for after Sharova’s behind bars”

“I could get behind that”, Eric agreed

“Ok this sight’s becoming familiar and I’m not sure I like it”, Eric teased as he sat beside a tense Kyle

“Ha ha”, Kyle responded annoyed. “I got caught for speeding”

“You know, I think we should take those keys away from you. Then we’d all breathe better”

“Dad already did”, Kyle complained. “I only did that cos mom was late for a job interview”

Eric sighed as he understood. Kyle wasn’t supposed to be the adult, Julia was, but somehow he’d been saddled with taking care of her. “Eric”. Horatio appeared looking grim and Eric shot them both a sympathetic smile. Even with all the problems with his dad, he knew he had it easy.

“Speed and I got called to a body dump. Speed’s taken the evidence with him. I was gonna follow up with Sevilla on the guy’s ID”, he explained. Horatio nodded but it was clear his mind was elsewhere. “I’ll see you guys later. Maybe dinner”, he suggested. Kyle managed just as distracted a nod as his father making him chuckle

“You use Alexx’s method?”, Eric asked him later that day when he was called in to Horatio’s office

“No. I… I have him helping Dr. Price at the morgue”

The Cuban was surprised for a second before he understood. “He’s not getting paid for it, is he?”

“Officially it’s an internship. He still has money coming to him from Julia. He needs to learn responsibility Eric. He went from having too little to too much”

“Yeah but, that’s not turned his head H. Look I know he’s your kid but still, maybe you’re just being too hard on him”

Horatio both glared and rolled his eyes. “What would you have done?”, he asked pointedly

“I don’t know. I mean… he’s just been through a lot you know. But I guess you can’t keep giving him breaks. It’s just…”

“You don’t think I should have left him in that prison”. That had been the one sticking point between them as far as Kyle had been concerned. Eric, to whom, family meant more than life couldn’t see how Horatio could have been ok with Kyle being incarcerated all those months. True the redhead had found him a protector and done everything he could to ensure the young man’s safety, but still…. They all had a lot of contacts. Heck Speed had even offered to call an attorney he knew from New York who would have taken on Kyle’s case pro bono; and gotten him off

He hesitated. “You didn’t leave me in that detention cell”, he said carefully at last

“You were innocent Eric. Actually you were set up”.

Eric shook his head not wanting an argument. “I’m guessing you didn’t call me up here to discuss Kyle so what’s up?”

“Stetler”

He groaned. Seemed like his day was getting better. “My birth certificate”

“Hm, hm. He’s making noises about it. He wants your statement”

“Maybe I should just take a permanent vacation”, he muttered as he rubbed his forehead not realising Horatio had frozen. “All right, I’ll go to his office and…”

“What do you mean permanent vacation?”

Eric realised he had actually said the words out loud and winced. “Nothing I just…”. He knew Horatio wasn’t buying it. “You ever feel like this place is becoming too much?”

‘What’s one more nail in the coffin’, Horatio thought. He was saved from answering by Ryan’s arrival

The next blow came from Dr. Price. Horatio wanted to believe Julia wouldn’t have taken the drugs but he also knew of her record. He wondered if Eric, who wasn’t exactly a fan of Julia, but still believed Kyle should have both his parents – one of the reasons he hadn’t objected to Julia’s presence in their lives – wouldn’t be happy with his next move either, but Kyle was an adult. And let’s face it, he thought bitterly, all he had done ever since their marriage was disappoint his husband. Heck he’d begun doing that since Saris had come into their lives. 

Eric was right, he reflected. Sometimes, their lives could get too much

“All right, you, me and Timothy, we are going to go out tonight and…”

“Paint the town red?”, Eric asked Travers amused

“No we are going to have a talk like gentlemen”

“Count me out then”, Speed groused from behind the lab tech

“Yeah we all know Speed’s no gentleman”

“Ha, ha Delko. That’s so funny”

“Perhaps we should ask his lovely lady that?”, Travers said with an impish smile

“Call her his lady one more time and you’ll be drinking through a straw Travers”, Eric said and Travers winced and looked around quickly. He knew the Cuban was right. If Calleigh had heard that, she would kick his arse quite well

“Hey, sorry, didn’t know you’d still be up. Left you a message”, Eric muttered as he kissed Horatio’s temple then sat down beside him at the table. Horatio held up his coffee and he shook his head no

“Yeah, no. I got your message. You had fun?”, he asked with a small smile at the contended look on Eric’s face. While the Cuban wasn’t drunk he did seem to be slightly buzzed

“Yeah, Speed and I got Travers to flirt with this girl. I think they left together”

Horatio chuckled. “Playing matchmaker love”

“Oh please H”, Eric countered pulling his redhead to his feet. “Travers needs to get laid”. He led Horatio to their room. “And so do we”, he teased making his redhead blush

He wasn’t sure either Horatio or Speed, or for that matter his parents would approve of what he was up to, but as he waited in the coffee shop for his birth father, he wasn’t sure they’d disapprove either. 

“Thank you for coming”, Sharova dressed in sweat pants and a hoodie said formally as he sat down opposite him

“It’s fine. You said you wanted to talk”. The waitress came over for their orders. Sharova smiled when he asked for a Cuban coffee. “You are just like your mother. She liked the blend too”, he explained at the look Eric shot him

“She said she worked for you?” 

“Yes. Yes, I… I was the… well technically the owner of the factory she worked out of. Did your Lt….?”, he asked then stopped. Eric flashed the waitress a distracted smile then raised an eyebrow when she left. “Did your Lt. tell you why I was there?”

Eric shifted around uncomfortably for a minute before he answered in the positive. “He said you were part of…”

“The CIA yes”, Sharova finished for him amused. “But not as glamorous as you think. I was just a small cog. And when they didn’t need me anymore”

“They burned you”

“You are wondering why I would go to the Russian mob. Why I would not try legal means?”

“No… I…”, Eric tried then realised his face had been transparent. “I didn’t mean it…”

“Yes you did Eric. And it is ok. I’m glad you can say that”

“I don’t understand”

“Yes, I know”. Eric wondered at Sharova’s peaceful face

“He’s glad you didn’t have to be that desperate love”, Horatio explained when Eric told him about the conversation

“Yeah but… isn’t there always…”. For reasons he couldn’t explain the thought made him uncomfortable. “Isn’t he the bad guy here”

“You’ve been a police officer for at least ten years Eric. You tell me”. 

“A what room?”

“You know a romp room for when… pilots and stewardesses wanna… you know…”

“And he seriously called it that?”, Eric asked Natalia in disbelief

“Oh yeah”

“’Talia thinks we should have one here”, Ryan teased

“Oh yeah, I’m sure we can find uses for that”, Eric exclaimed the smirk on his face plain

“Told you”. He saw Natalia and Ryan exchange a glance. 

“What?”, he asked confused

“You said we?”

He was amused by the smirk on Natalia’s face. “So?”

“I just think you wouldn’t be the only one, that’s all”

“Who else do…” The light bulb went off in his head. “C’mon it’s not as if they’ve said anything”

“And you of course have no further information”

“No I do not”, Eric said with a laugh. 

“What did you tell them?”

“Excuse me?”, Eric asked feigning bravado even if his heart hammered in his chest. “I don’t…”

“You told Ari and Isa”, Speed tattled.

“Yeah but that was…”

“Not an accident”, Calleigh said seriously and Eric backed up a step

“I swear it wasn’t… I didn’t mean to ok…”

“Sure you didn’t. What did you tell Ryan and Natalia?”

Eric spotted the hidden amusement on Speed’s face. “You’re setting me up”, he growled

“C’mon”, Calleigh protested but at her boyfriend this time. “You barely lasted a minute”

“You owe me a drink”

“Yeah right”, Speed muttered. “All right fine c’mon”. Eric rolled his eyes at the smile

“Thank you for doing this Eric”

“No problem Alex”, Eric said with a small laugh as he helped Sharova carry the last box of his items to his new apartment. “It’s not as if I did much”

“But still. You agreed to spend time with me. I know you did not have to”

“Yeah well, I’m just as curious about you as you are about me. And yes both professionally and personally”, he confessed. He had realised after the last round of conversations that Sharova could read him well if he meant to and didn’t want to be caught in a lie. Not when he wanted to gain his birth father’s trust. The why he was trying to do so, he wasn’t able to explain yet, not even to himself

Sharova paused on the steps to stare and Eric turned his head away feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable. “It is true”, he said as he began moving again. “I would like to get to know you”. Eric couldn’t help the flash of anger. “I did not know who was looking for me”, the former CIA man said quickly. “All I was led to believe was that it was two police officers. I panicked and went to my colleagues for help”

“Colleagues?”, Eric asked tone cold

They reached the apartment before Sharova answered. “Yes colleagues”, he admitted as he placed the box he had carried in on the couch. “Please come in”, he invited when Eric stood hesitantly on the doorstep. “At least give me a chance to serve you a cup of coffee before you leave. I promise it will only be coffee”

Eric sighed. He didn’t, couldn’t understand Sharova. The man had just admitted to being a known member of the Russian mob to a cop and yet he was also pleasant and cordial to said cop. But Eric could also sense that Sharova was being honest. “Yeah ok”, he said doing his best to hide his confusion


	15. Chapter 10

“I heard a gate slam what happened?”, Eric asked Calleigh as he entered the house with Speed

“The attacker came back”

Eric didn’t bother waiting for her to finish before he ran out the same way the thief had taken. Speed followed the frantic blond into the kitchen

“What do you mean the attacker came back?”, he asked trying to get her to slow down

“Whoever he is, he’s gone”, Eric announced a few minutes later. “He must have had the escape route planned out earlier. I couldn’t find any discernible boot prints or tire treads outside”. He saw a worried Speed hand Calleigh some gauze. “What are you doing?”. Calleigh’s explanation made sense but Eric knew it was longer than a long shot. Exchanging a glance with Speed he allowed the ballistics expert to lead them back out

“I already spoke to the cop who left the scene”, Tripp said before Horatio could ream him a new one. “He’s being reassigned. Tape’s back and I got two guys there”

“Yes but the attacker is long gone Frank”, Horatio said clearly unhappy at the negligence displayed by patrol. “He’s not gonna show his face again”

“Did we get anything useful at all?”, Tripp asked not exactly ignoring Horatio’s complaint but moving on anyway. He would demote the idiot back to traffic if they didn’t get an easy solve

“Some”, Horatio said his confidence in his team as always high. “Mr. Wolfe”, he added as he spotted Ryan at the elevator. Ryan showed him the piece of cloth

“So we wait for your mass spec thingy”, Tripp said his long-suffering sigh at the time science took familiar

“Mass spectrometer. Honestly Frank, will you learn the name by the time you retire?”, Wolfe teased earning himself a glare

“You need to slow down”, Speed said when Calleigh almost ran into the trace lab. “Not gonna help if you…”

“What? Make a mistake?”, she snapped then sighed knowing Speed was just worried for her. She placed the evidence bag on the table in front of her and sat down on one of the chairs. “He held my own gun to my head”

Speed who knew a thing or two about being at the wrong end of a weapon understood her frustration. “Look, why don’t you get yourself a glass of water, or a cup of coffee. Let me run this. I promise we’ll get this guy Cal”, he said softly. “Believe me I’m not stopping till we do”. He resisted the urge to squirm or look away as those green eyes pinned him. “What?”, he grumbled

“Thank you”, she said with that real smile that usually had his heart melting. But Calleigh wasn’t done. Carefully looking around to make sure they were in fact alone in this section of the lab she whispered. “For being the best boyfriend a gal could ask for”

Speed’s grin, despite the close call, stayed on for the rest of the day

It was eight by the time Eric came to check on them. “Look at this”. Calleigh pointed to the monitor and the designer’s details before he could even speak. “Zoe Belle, she owns the clothing line that manufactures this bullet proof fabric and it’s not…”

“Calleigh”, Eric interrupted her. “It’s late and we can’t contact this woman till tomorrow”

“The hell we can’t”, Calleigh snarled. “This clothing was involved in an attempted murder and…”

“Two attempted murders”, Speed who had still been processing the scent evidence corrected her. “Unfortunately, and you know I hate agreeing with the kid here, he’s right. We can’t do anything till the morning Cal”

“So what I’m just supposed to accept that we can’t get this guy”

“Yet”, Travers corrected throwing in his vote with Eric and Speed. “I’m sure you lot will arrest him eventually Calleigh, but… haste makes waste”

“That’s the second time today someone’s told me I could make a mistake”, Calleigh shot back and Travers floundered then shot Speed a look that said, ‘Save me”. Calleigh’s eyes though went to Eric who backed up. 

“You want me to get me shot?”, he asked the lab tech seriously. Travers snorted

“Of course, only CSIs are smart enough to see things”, he teased regaining some of his composure. Calleigh’s lips twitched though it was clear she was trying to hold on to her anger

“Fine, but we are getting this guy tomorrow, no matter what”, she said firmly. “But now yeah we should leave”, she added with a fond smile at Eric

Eric looked to Speed who shook his head. “I’ll finish this and…”

“Oh I can continue where you left off Timothy”, Travers said and Calleigh chuckled. 

“You’re the only one here who calls him that”, she said and earned herself eye-rolls from both men

“Go on guys”, Speed said. “Grab a table, I’ll see you guys in a minute. Bring Michael with me as well”

Calleigh hesitated but Travers seemed to know and more importantly it took a lot for Speed to trust someone and the Brit it appeared was on that very short list. “You don’t have to finish this tonight Tim. We’re all tired. We should just go home”

Eric nodded as well. “Sorry man, but I’m kinda beat too”

“You just wanna get laid don’t you”, Speed complained then almost bit his tongue. He didn’t normally slip in front of Calleigh

“You have a girlfriend again?”, Travers asked coming to Eric’s rescue

“Sorry but I don’t kiss and tell”, Eric said with a wink and Calleigh though she looked suspicious let it go

“So Cameron West took pictures of a famous horse”, Ryan observed. Eric knew Speed and Calleigh were hardly his business but he still couldn’t help but ask for the date on the photo. Right after the horse owner case he realised. Speed had only begun dating her a few weeks later. “Looks like Speed’s got competition”. Ryan’s casual comment had Eric’s head snap to him. Resisting the urge to be curt he played dumb instead

Wolfe’s own pictures flashed on the screen giving them the perfect distraction. Eric’s eyes widened when he realised West had been taking pictures of them. Sharova had all but confirmed to him that the Russian mob had been watching him and… “Stop”, he ordered heart hammering in his chest and Ryan obeyed instinctively.

“Eric what?”, he began but Eric ignored him to call his lover

Horatio, who unlike Eric could get away with not explaining himself, took the camera and his husband to his office. Speed was waiting for them there. “Ryan, Frank, Nat…”, he observed his temper simmering. “Son of a bitch, he’s been watching us”

Eric though was more worried about what exactly West had caught him and Horatio doing. Horatio, his own thoughts running in the same direction scrolled through the pictures breathing a sigh of relief when they reached the last one. Looked like the only thing Cameron had was Eric coming into and leaving the house and that they could explain away.

“Oh please”, Speed who had spotted their tense postures teased. “You guys don’t even hold hands when you’re outside the house”

“Meaning what Speed?”, Horatio asked tone amused

“Meaning nothing”, Speed said grinning. “Just that inside the house is another story”

“Shut up Tim”, Eric said with an eye-roll

“You’re a real piece of work Officer Delko, just like your father”. Both Eric and Speed who was present at the interrogation as well, had a feeling Cameron wasn’t referring to Pavel Delko. 

“Tell me who you’re working for”, Eric said losing it getting into the photographer’s face. 

“I’m afraid my benefactor prefers to remain anonymous”

“Kid back up”, Speed said tugging on his arm. “C’mon, let him go”

Eric still took a minute before he obeyed Speed with a “Not for long”

His temper still at a boil he joined the redhead in his office. “We were right, he’s working for the Russians. Bastard knows about Sharova H. Maybe knows him even”

“I think it’s time we ask him”, Horatio suggested. “Find out where his loyalties truly are. Meanwhile I’m going to talk to Sarnoff”

“West never mentioned Sarnoff”, Eric pointed out

“I know”, was all Horatio said

Sharova hesitated when Eric did exactly as Horatio had asked. “I’m not behind any of this Eric. No one will come after you because of me”, he said at last choosing his words carefully

“Alex look at me”, Eric ordered turning the older man’s head towards him when he wouldn’t. “I’m a cop. Your friends are gonna come after me just because of that. So if you truly do care…”

Sharova was torn as his face showed. “You are my… my child”, he said finally acknowledging what he had refused to do so all this while. “I will do what I can to protect you”

“But Horatio, Speed, Cal… my colleagues, my family. They’re all fair game is that it?”, Eric asked unwilling to be accommodating

“I’m not as influential as you believe Eric. I cannot order anyone to do anything. The best I can do is request”. Eric turned away frustrated at the calm answer. “I will do my best to inform you of anything… relevant”, he said at last and the Cuban knew he had to be satisfied with that

Normally Speed was laid back when it came to women. But Calleigh was no ordinary woman and he couldn’t help but be the least bit possessive when he saw the picture of her with the trainer. Her explanation he knew made sense. She had a right to her own friends after all and he knew she wasn’t the cheating type. But he still couldn’t help but feel a little green when he went back to the trace lab and that damn scent

“Ramirez refused to dime his partners out”, Eric announced a few hours later. “You guys still on this”

“Nope, we just finished”, Calleigh said flashing a somewhat still tense Speed a smile.

“The dog… it bit someone”, Eric realised then winced. The chances of the pet not being groomed till now were slim to none. “I’ll go”, he said reading the strained atmosphere for once correctly and giving his friends some time alone

“Horatio”, Calleigh said bringing him the DNA profile

Horatio smiled. “Let’s go ma’am”, he said as he grasped his gun

They recovered Calleigh’s weapon but before they could get a line on the Russians or Sarnoff their thief was executed. And to add insult to injury Cameron West would make bail

A gut feeling told Horatio his team was being targeted and he ordered everyone back in. And everyone would be accounted for even Natalia who had escorted their victim to her house; everyone except for Ryan

“Calleigh’s heading back to the lab with the bullets”

“Where’s Wolfe?”

“Last I heard, he was on his way to talk to the photographer”

“Call him Eric”

“I did, he’s not picking up”

Horatio didn’t want excuses. He wanted his team safe and sound. “Call him again”, he ordered

“Wolfe’s phone is off as is the GPS in the Hummer”, Eric said when Horatio, Speed, Calleigh, Natalia and Tripp gathered in the A.V. lab. 

“Mr. Benton?”, Horatio asked the A.V tech who shook his head

“Sorry H, but Eric’s right. I got nothing”

“Last known location?”, Speed asked and Benton gave it to them. “Let’s go”, he said pointing to Calleigh and Tripp who left after a nod from Horatio

“Spikes. Someone forced Wolfe to make a tire change”, Calleigh observed

“You mean the Russians forced a tire change”, Speed said as he ran his flashlight over the area to make sure they hadn’t missed anything. 

“Whoever it was left us nothing”

“So how the hell do we find Ryan?”, Tripp asked them worried

Eric called before they could make it back to the lab. “Ryan’s safe and sound”, Speed said his relief plain. “Turns out he had car trouble. The spike was real but Wolfe apparently made a mess of things. Delko just spoke to him”

Calleigh looked dumbfounded at Speed’s explanation. “You’re kidding”, she exclaimed even as Tripp shot him a look that asked, ‘What the fuck?’

“Nope, H says to go home”

“Remind me to kill Ryan tomorrow”, Tripp grumbled


	16. Interlude 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love CSI Miami mostly for the actors and while the writing was good initially, as the seasons went on the quality simply degraded to the point, where I rarely enjoy watching reruns of S9 and S10. Season 7 wasn't too bad - mostly because a lot of it revolved around Eric - but still, it wasn't at the same level as Seasons 1, 2 and I'll reluctantly add 3 even if Speed's character was gone
> 
> But the writers had this annoying habit of leaving huge plot holes and Horatio's 'death' was one of them. It was stupid and not well written at all

“How is he?”, a tired Travers who had come to check on Eric before he went home for the night asked Carmen Delko outside the door to the waiting room. Carmen though ignored his question

“It is late Michael”, she chided him. “You should be asleep”

“And I presume you told Horatio, Timothy and Calleigh the same thing Carmen?”, Travers shot back though there was a small grin on his face

“Yes well, I thought Brits were supposed to be sensible. Or at least that is what Marisol told us”, Pavel grumbled making said Brit roll his eyes

“How is he?”, he repeated avoiding a subject that was still sensitive to him. 

“He is… he is yet to wake up. Horatio will sleep here again”, Carmen added unhappily. “If you want to see him, you can. Dr. Woods spoke to the hospital staff. Horatio asked us to give them a list and your name is on it”. Travers’ gratitude was plain and she chuckled. “You are and will always be our family mijo. Even if you did miss your niece’s birthday”

Travers winced. “I sent my gift through Eric. Nita was very upset?”

“It is Isabella you should worry about. You know my daughter has a temper Michael”, Pavel pointed out.

“Oh yes. Just like that stubborn son of yours”

“You mean your stubborn brother-in-law”

“How come he’s always my brother-in-law when the lot of you are unhappy with him”. The Delko parents couldn’t help but laugh at his complaining tone

“How much of that did you hear Calleigh?”, Travers who had waited for Pavel and Carmen to leave before he questioned the blond asked

“All of it”, Calleigh who had been inside the waiting room confessed

“I was the one Marisol was married to”, he said not wanting to beat around the bush. “Horatio and her… it’s complicated. I meant when I said Eric was stubborn you know”, he added suddenly. “And Marisol, she was determined the two of them would be together before she died. So she played him”

“She made him think she was dating Horatio to make him feel jealous. Eric’s the closest thing I have in Miami to remind me of my little brothers back home Michael. Believe me I know how he thinks”, she said with a smirk when he stared

“You have siblings?”, he asked her keen once more to change the subject.

“Yes, I have two little brothers. They all live in Louisiana”

“How many more secrets are there?”

Speed sighed as he sat down on one of the chairs beside a still upset Calleigh. “Probably a lot more than you realise. Which one do you mean now?”

“Travers”. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Eric never knew?”, she asked slightly surprised because the last she had heard from the Cuban himself he wasn’t exactly happy with his sister dating his boss

“Marisol could be devious”

“When did they first start dating? C’mon you know I’m curious”

“Well from what Eric told me, he’s had a crush on H since he was I think twenty or something”

“What?”

“Yup, he became a cop because of H. Kid was supposed to take over Pavel’s business but Horatio defuses a bomb and he ditches his family”

“Best thing that could have happened to him”, Isabella who had managed to sneak up on them said. “Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Whatever you wanna call it”, she added handing them sandwiches. 

“You do realise Alexx is already here, right?”, Speed said sarcastically earning himself a whack on the back of the head. “Hey watch it”, he complained making the women laugh

“Eat both of you. I can’t drag you both away from here. Oh believe me I wish I could because I know if my brother were awake that’s what he’d want but I can make sure you guys are functioning reasonably well”

“You don’t have to worry about us Isa, we’re fine I promise”, Calleigh said gently

Isa shrugged her shoulders. “If I don’t worry about you, then I’m gonna start crying because that… idiot…. If I keep fussing on you on the other hand… I won’t have the energy…”, she trailed off with a weak smile

Calleigh who felt tears well up in her eyes turned her head away

“So what, they got together when he became a cop”

Speed shook his head a very small smile on his face. Calleigh was persistent and he knew she’d bug it out of him. “After Al’s death”

“What?”. He chuckled at her flabbergasted question

“After Al’s death”, he repeated. “They left the bar together that night Cal”

“And how the hell do you know this Mr. I hate gossip”

Isa choked on air. “Who the hell told you, your boyfriend hates gossip. He’s the nosiest person I know”

“Ok A that’s your brother”, the trace expert retorted annoyed. “And B, I know cos the idiot told me”

“Who? Horatio?”, Calleigh asked with a straight face

“You calling our boss an idiot”

“No”. She relented with a smile. But then a though stuck her and she went rigid. Speed could see the anger simmering below the surface and wondered what the hell he’d done. “You know all along right?”, she snapped and he nodded mutely. “So how the hell could you Speedle”. And he knew she wasn’t just mad but enraged. She hadn’t called him Speedle in that tone since the last time he’d forgotten to clean his gun.

“How the hell could I do what?”

“Horatio’s death”. He winced then sighed

“It’s compl…”

“Don’t”, she said shaking her head and he stopped. “That explains why he went off on Diaz like that. Eric got himself suspended Speed”

“I know. Believe me I know exactly how much I hurt him Cal. I… I had to choose between two friends. It’s not an excuse Cal. H needed me to do what I did and Eric… Kid’s got a big heart. He chose to forgive me”

“it’s true Calleigh”, Isa who had chosen to let the lovers handle it added. “We were all so mad at Horatio and Speed for a while but ultimately it was Eric’s choice”

“I know Isa”, Calleigh said with a nod. “Trust me I get that part. I just… He must have been devastated”

Speed knew devastated didn’t even begin to cover it

He had just arrived at the scene when he heard Eric’s gasping breaths, saw the effort it took for him to keep his feet and knew… just knew this was what Horatio had wanted. The thought made him sick to his stomach. Eric for the life of him couldn’t keep his emotions off his face if he tried on a normal day and now when he believed his whole life was lost… The guilt crushing him Speed turned his head away. Luckily for him Calleigh mistook his gesture as grief over losing Horatio

“Officer Delko”. Stetler’s thundering voice had Speed who had been with Tripp run into the interrogation room. “Let Mr. Diaz go please”

“Kid c’mon”, Speed added walking in. “Let go… c’mon kid, back up here. H wouldn’t want you to lose your career”

“My career?”, Eric asked enraged. “You think I give a fuck about my career now?”

Speed looked around to see the attention they were gathering and tilted his head at the uniform who lead Diaz away. The trace expert caught Frank’s eye next and one bellow from the detective had the curious scrambling from the spot. “C’mon”, Speed repeated dragging Eric out of the room. “Cal continue please. I’ll join you in a bit”, he ordered the blond.

“If you can’t control your men perhaps it’s time for IAB to take over the investigation”, Stetler said once they had reached the lab floor. A glowering Eric was about to make another stupid move when he was pulled from the spot by the combined efforts of Natalia, Valera, Travers and Wolfe. Speed, knowing he owed all four of them vowed to himself to not give them any paperwork for a month. Two months he reconsidered when Eric’s angry but indistinguishable yells reached him. 

“Unfortunately that’s not within your provision Stetler”

“Think again Speedle, Horatio’s… well… gone and I outrank you”

“With that gleeful look on your face, maybe I ought to ask you for alibi”, Frank said almost shoving his badge up Stetler’s nose. “See the colour. It’s the same as yours. And this case belongs to the detective bureau, so fuck off”

“Fine”, Stetler said face red. “But Delko’s suspended for a month”, was his parting shot

“I need to investigate this case”

“Right now what you need to do is go home”, Speed ordered Eric feeling more and more like the worst scum on the planet. “You need to… you need to let the lab handle this”

“And I’m not part of the lab?”, Eric asked anguished. “Tim tell me?”, he said as he made sure Speed met his eyes. “If this were… if this were someone…”. Even grieving Eric knew enough to preserve Horatio’s memory so he looked around to ensure no one was within hearing range

“Exactly what you did kid”, Speed said not letting him finish his sentence. “But right now I need to do what Horatio would have done”. He knew Eric considered his statement to mean the lab but taking him off the case was the only way he could think of to protect the man he loved like a little brother

Alexx was the only one at the lab – if she had remained there – who could have called out Horatio on his duplicity. But she wasn’t the only one at P.D. “I wish… I wish I could kill you myself”. Frank’s angry words had both Speed and Horatio back up. “How could you… either of you. How can you live with yourself? What case can be worth his sanity”

“His life is Frank”, Horatio said grimly. “It wouldn’t have taken Saris long to figure out what Eric meant to me. He already went after Speed just because he happens to be my oldest friend. What the hell do you think he would have done to Eric”

“Eric can’t lie worth shit Frank”, Speed added in support of Horatio. “We all know his reaction would have given the whole thing away. Saris needed to believe H was dead”

“Congratulations then cos your plan worked. Saris wasn’t the only one”. Frank took a deep breath. “Look I care about that kid and while you’re my friend… When I thought you were dead… It was literally the worst twenty-four hours of my life Horatio and I’m just a….”. His voice choking Tripp stopped. “I’m just a friend… but Eric… If I was him I wouldn’t even wanna look at you”

“Get out”

“Jack please”

“Don’t Pavel”, Jack Murphy, husband to Isabelle Delko-Murphy said as he tried to block Horatio and Speed’s entrance into the Delko house. “For once… just…”

“You need to let them work it out mijo”, Pavel Delko said firmly. “This is not our decision it’s Eric’s”

“Eric isn’t in a position to make decisions now papi”, Ariessa who had come out at the noise said. “He… he hasn’t moved… eaten… slept…”

“Ari”

“How can you take their side mami?”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side”. Carmen Delko’s appearance told them she was just as furious with them as the rest of the family. “In fact I would be happier if they never came back”. She saw the tears in Speed’s eyes, spotted Horatio turn his head away. “But that is the anger we feel now and we all know how much Horatio loves Eric so if he did this…”

“So you are taking his side”, Isabella said just as stunned as her sister and her husband. “You wanna understand… hell mami what would you do if papi hurt you like this?”

“Stop”. All of them turned at Eric’s weak voice. “Please stop”, the Cuban begged them. He balanced himself on the wall as he moved forward. “Is the Hummer outside?”, he asked Horatio and Speed his eyes firmly on the ground

“Eric”, Horatio said willing him to meet his eyes but Eric didn’t oblige. It was clear he was waiting for an answer. “Yes” 

“Dad help me to it”, Eric ordered his father. 

Pavel hesitated but ignoring the objections of his daughters and his son-in-law complied

“It took Eric four days to talk to Horatio and two weeks to even come see me and…” – Speed turned away still unable to contemplate the worst two weeks of his life in Miami. Eric hadn’t been the only one mad at him. Calleigh had shut him out as had the Delkos. His lifeline to staying in the city had been Horatio, Alexx and Travers. The latter two had been upset with him as well but Alexx being Alexx had forgiven him in a second and to Travers the deception had never really been an issue. 

Calleigh spotting the anguish on his face gently squeezed his palm


	17. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hated WISC and not because it's a Wolfe episode. It's just I hate gaps in writing
> 
> While I can't accept the fact that Eric would have ignored an order from Horatio - Horatio is very clear when he asks him to find Wolfe and Eric usually does everything Horatio asks of him - the least the writers could have done was mentioned he ignored such an order. Writers of Miami were the worst I have seen in a TV series ever. Even my mom's soaps make more sense compared to these guys
> 
> Anyway I usually try and cover plot holes in my stories and this is my explanation

Eric had always been, despite the fact that he had managed to fool his near and dear ones – well at least Calleigh and Alexx because if he was being honest neither Ryan nor Natalia knew him that well – for at least seven years, told he was a very bad liar. But that statement was on point with a caveat. Eric was a very bad liar when it came to Horatio and or Speed

So when he tried to trace Ryan and instead ended up with a hostage situation about which he’d been asked to lie to, to practically everyone he did the only thing he could. He did the deed by phone then ran off to his condo

“Where the hell are you?”, was his first question when the younger man called him early the next morning. Picking Wolfe up – Eric hadn’t been able to help but wince at the sight of all the blood - he had after cursing multiple times, driven the younger CSI to his house as requested even if all he wanted to do was flash his sirens and go straight to the ER entrance just like he had done almost three and a half years ago. Ignoring Wolfe’s objections with a “I’m involved whether you like it or not”, he got the whole story out

“So they want us to cover up a crime scene”

“Me Delko”, Ryan snapped. “They want me to cover up a crime scene”

“No us. I’m up to my neck in this too. So either you let me help or I go to H”

“Eric, you’re a horrible liar”. Eric didn’t answer that one verbally. Instead he let his annoyed glare speak volumes

“How the hell do you wanna do this?”, Eric asked Ryan on the roof taking care to keep his voice low

He could see the wheels turn in Wolfe’s head. “You’ve got a near perfect record, well except for a couple of stupid incidents. Me on the other hand, I got a reputation for being an idiot”

“Wolfe”, Eric snapped half-embarrassed, half-annoyed. “Get to the point”

“Let me make… a few mistakes here and there, hopefully no one will notice, well no one except for you”. Eric hesitated. “Look Delko, despite… you’re my friend man. I’m not letting you go down for someone else’s mistake”

Eric had to admit he was touched. “He shouldn’t be your problem either Wolfe”, he said gruffly then moved on to the evidence

“When the hell did you two gentlemen plan on telling me Billy Gantry was kidnapped”

Eric who had been helping Ryan build a solid case against the unfortunate security guard froze at Horatio’s biting words. “I… I can…”

“No you can’t Eric”, Horatio snapped his anger plain and while Ryan looked taken aback – he had after all never seen the redhead lose it before – Eric hung his head. He knew Horatio wasn’t upset cos of the case. This had everything to do with them. “Tell me exactly what happened”, Horatio ordered after taking a deep breath, his eyes on Ryan. Eric his hands shaking left the layout room

Horatio called him into his office a few minutes later. “H I can…”

The redhead spoke over him. “I traced the van Billy Gantry was kidnapped in to the Russians” – He pointed to a piece of paper on the desk. “Van’s registered to a shell corporation. I need you to see if Sharova can help us”

Eric hesitated. “Horatio please…”, he began

“There is a young boy’s life at stake”, Horatio said and he gave up

“Eric, what you’re asking…”

“Look, Billy Gantry is a kid. I’m not… I’m not even asking cos you’re my dad, I don’t want you to become a snitch. I just… this kid he doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him and even if Ryan and I deliver, there’s no guarantee, the Russians’ll let him live Alex, so if you know anything…”. Sharova’s face remained impassive and he started walking away

“Wait”, he said a few seconds later. Eric saw him rub his forehead in indecision. “Let me… let me see what I can do”

“A sugar mill. That tallies with what Ryan found”. Horatio explained the trace on the shirt. “Calleigh and Speed are working to clear Peterson. Tell them what happened please”. He hung up and Eric groaned. Looked like his husband was throwing him to the wolves again mercilessly. He just wished the Russians would either kill themselves or the cops already because they were destroying his life

‘No, Eric, you are doing that and quite effectively I might add’. Eric ordered Marisol’s lecturing voice to shut up

Eric sighed when an annoyed Speed ordered Ryan out of the room but before he could act as Horatio had suggested he was waylaid by the young man and dragged off. “Don’t”, he snapped before the Cuban could open his mouth. “It’s already done. Officially you’re giving me another lecture”. Not giving him a chance to answer Ryan left the room

“I know you’re involved”. He wasn’t too surprised at Speed’s firm words and told him about Mark Gantry, Billy Gantry and the kidnapping. The only thing he held back was Sharova’s involvement. “Are you fucking crazy”, Speed snapped. “This could have destroyed both your careers not to mention the credibility of this lab”

“They’d have killed Billy”, Eric said his defiance plain. “What the hell was I supposed to do. Just sacrifice the kid”

“You were supposed to come to us”. He turned his head away from the accusation knowing if Speed was this hurt by his deception, Horatio was going to be worse

“The Russians would have killed him Tim”. This time his voice was pleading. “I just didn’t know what to do all right”

Speed sighed his anger already draining out. “How mad is H?”, he asked. Eric’s suddenly crumpling face gave him his answer

“How mad are you?”

Horatio didn’t dignify his question with an answer. Instead he grabbed himself a cup of coffee then locked himself up in the office, while Eric tried not to throw up his very late lunch

Horatio sighed when he found Eric sleeping on the couch, his head resting against the armrest, his arm thrown over his face. Debating with himself on whether or not to wake the young Cuban from what appeared to be a restful slumber he stalled by getting himself another cup of coffee while he kept one eye on his husband’s peaceful face. Eric rarely looked this relaxed these days when he was awake and he drank in the sight

“What the hell am I going to do with you love”, he murmured to himself before he knelt beside the Cuban and gently stroked his cheek. “C’mon love, bed”, he ordered when Eric mumbled something unintelligible and swatted Horatio’s hand away. “Up you get Eric”

“Sleepy”, Eric complained and he couldn’t help but chuckle. That had the Cuban pouting. “You still mad at me?”, he asked at last in a shaky voice and Horatio sighed again

“Disappointed you didn’t come to me”, he said honestly. “It hurt that you didn’t trust me love”

“I do trust you with my life Horatio”, Eric said not daring to meet his redhead’s eyes, afraid of seeing the pain in them. Horatio stroked his cheek again. “I love you Eric and I just… you scare me sometimes. If anything were to happen to you…”

“It won’t H”, Eric said firmly. “I… I know… I haven’t been exactly easy to live with since the shooting…”

“When was our life ever easy Eric?”, Horatio asked him tone bitter and Eric had to admit his redhead was right

“You found the boy?”, Sharova asked him when he called the Russian the next day

“Yes, yes we did thanks to you Alex. Thank you”, Eric said sincerely

“I… I am glad I was able to help Eric”. Eric could hear the smile in his biological father’s voice. Not knowing the implications Sharova’s betrayal would have for all of them he hung up

“You’re never gonna care about how I look right?”

“I’m sorry what?”, Horatio asked Eric then rushed out from behind his desk when he saw the white face. “What is it Eric?”, he asked softly then frowned when Eric repeated his question. “No”, he said sincerely. “I honestly do not care how you look. It’s your generous heart I fell in love with”

Eric smiled sheepishly and turned the slightest bit red. “It’s just this case… this woman Mrs. Corbett, she… plastic surgery ruined her Horatio”. Horatio was startled at the anger in his voice. “I mean these doctors, they advertise all of this…”

“Eric”. Horatio’s sharp tone stopped Eric’s rant

“She was a beautiful woman H and she ruined her whole life just cos some bastard told her she could look better. He was nothing more than a con man”

Horatio sighed knowing his next statement wasn’t going to make things any better. “Unfortunately that just gives Mrs. Corbett motive for murder

“What the hell”. Eric’s loud shout attracted the attention of not just an annoyed Ric Stetler but Saris as well who gave him a smug smile before he exited the building.

“What is Ron Saris doing here?”, Calleigh asked just as surprised and upset as the Cuban

Horatio was not happy with what he considered unprofessional behaviour. “He was supposed to be dead H”, Speed said tone practical as he tried to blunt the redhead’s growing frustration

“I’m aware”, Horatio snapped but Eric wasn’t the least bit mollified. “Please get Mr. Wolfe and come to my office”, the redhead ordered his three CSIs

He wasn’t sure if he was lucky or unlucky to see Eric alone there. “Where are…?”

“What the hell are you gonna do? Fake your death again?”

He flinched at the accusation but recovered a moment later his eyes narrowing. “This is the lab Eric”, he said softly but firmly. Eric covered his anguished look when he heard footsteps on the stairs and turned his head away. Horatio knowing it had been a stupid move to try to assert his professional authority wished he could take his words back.

“You wanted to see us?”, Ryan asked noticing the tense atmosphere

“Yes, Mr. Wolfe shut the door please”, Horatio ordered his eyes still on Eric

“I’m sorry”, he apologised later that night when he found his husband in the print lab. “Eric, I… I shouldn’t have said what I did and I apol…”

“No you’re right, this is the lab”, Eric interrupted him tone flat. 

“Just like I was right the last time Saris messed up our lives?” Eric met his eyes and the redhead had to take a step back at the pain in them.

“When that bullet hit me… It was for a second… but… I heard you call my name. Your tone scared me because….” Eric needed a moment to control his rapidly degenerating voice. “You sounded like you’d lost everything. That’s the only clear memory I have of the shooting”, he admitted with a wry smile. “I didn’t… I didn’t realise what it meant. Not till… If you’re gonna do something stupid to go after Saris, Horatio please tell me this time”

“Like you did when you went against the Russians on your own for Mr. Wolfe”. He almost bit his tongue when he realised what he had just said and wasn’t too surprised when Eric’s face went blank. That was a prelude to an explosion of temper. Eric ripped his gloves off and walked away

“Case keeps coming back to this poor woman”

“Mrs. Corbett”, Calleigh realised

“Hm, hm, her hair Calleigh, I saw her picture, the damn thing’s not her own”

“I’ll drive”, was all Calleigh said as she noticed Eric’s drawn features

“Sorry H, nothing on the laser. Saris wiped everything down”, Speed who had been examining the evidence from Julia’s house said

“Well, he got what he wanted”, Horatio said tiredly

“Julia off balance?”

“Hm, hm. Stetler thinks Saris is gonna help him”

“Yeah well, Stetler’s an ass, we already knew that. How’s the kid doing?”

“Tim”, Horatio protested and Speed gave up

“What the fuck…? What the hell are you doing here?”, Eric exclaimed when he found Saris at his front door.

“Relax cowboy I’m just here to meet red”

“Lt. Caine’s at P.D. You can contact him there”, Eric said firmly. “I’d like you to leave please”

“You know it’s interesting you’re here”, Saris said casually and the hairs on the back of Eric’s neck stood up

“Leave Saris, before I have you arrested for trespassing”

“Yeah well if you do that my new buddy Stetler’s gonna get me out in like five minutes and we both know it kid”

Eric hated hearing the nickname Speed lovingly used from this bastard’s mouth. “Leave”, he snarled. “Before I make you”

“Whoa, threatening me with physical violence. What’ll the folks at IAB say?”

“Look for the last time”, Eric said trying to hold on to his temper. “This is private property and you’re trespassing. You got five seconds before I arrest you. I’m pretty sure I’ll end up adding resisting arrest to the list as well”

“Ok”, Saris said mockingly raising up a hand. “You know for a guy that takes it up the ass from that boss of yours you sure act all manly”. Saris knew his shot had hit home when Eric blanched. “What? You think I didn’t know that? It’s only poor Julia that believes her Horatio might one day come back to her”

Saris left with that parting shot and a white-faced Eric called Horatio

Back in the day when he had just joined CSI, Eric had surprised Speed at his house one day and learnt to his astonishment that the trace expert, thanks to his father was a really good cook; good enough to even qualify for a high-end restaurant. Eric on the other hand – like most young men who had an indulgent mom – had never learnt to even boil water on his own. So when Speed had offered to teach him, while he hadn’t exactly jumped at the chance then, he had over the years appreciated the independence this particular skill set offered. And while it was true that Horatio did most of the cooking in the house – when they had the time – or that his mom still brought over a lot of food only she did it for two; or most likely four; these days he was able to make something decent his husband appreciated

Like Marisol’s ropa vieja

And considering his husband was in just as great spirits as him the least Eric could do was make him his favourite dinner

“Hey H, guess what”, he began when he heard the front door slam shut. “The whole lab’s buzzing cos of our latest case. I mean, I know we don’t watch a lot of television but still it…”

He choked and dropped the spatula when the wire tightened around his neck

Horatio, feeling just as bemused as Eric with the way the women in the lab were reacting to their latest murder was in the process of receiving a report from Natalia when his phone buzzed. Seeing the Cuban’s name he opened the message only to freeze

“Speed”, he bellowed at the top of his lungs when he regained the ability to move startling Natalia who jumped out of his way to avoid being ploughed over when he began running. “Speed”, he repeated but the trace expert having heard him the first time and knowing Horatio would react this way for only one reason had dropped his gloves and coat in the middle of the lab. Calling Frank, he reached Horatio the same time as the elevator

“Units are on their way”, he said as he almost broke the button for the parking garage. “Calleigh and Ryan are in the field. Frank’s rerouting them to your place”, he added with a calmness he didn’t feel; especially when he noticed Horatio vibrate. “Bad?”

He almost lost his lunch when he saw the picture


	18. Chapter 12

“Eric”, Horatio yelled willing Eric to be… He felt relief fill his veins when he found the young Cuban leaning against the couch, coughing his lungs up, but alive and relatively… well. Needing a moment to control his rapidly turning emotions, just so he didn’t do anything stupid – like run in and take Eric in his arms and never let go – he stopped on the porch and beckoned Tripp and Ryan over. He felt unreasonably jealous of Speed when the trace expert unlike himself rushed to his husband’s side free to express his concerns

“House is clear”, Tripp said distracting him, effectively ending his unwarranted murderous looks at his trace expert. “Looks like the intruder entered from the front but I don’t think Eric ever heard him. There are clear signs he was cooking in the kitchen, we got utensils turned over and food spilled”

“What about the attacker Frank?”

Ryan’s answer made Horatio’s heart almost stop again. “There’s a body in the kitchen sir. I’ve already called for the M.E. and Alexx. Eric’s refused the medics’ help though”

“He’s still refusing it”, Speed who had come back out muttered unhappily. Horatio shot a glance over the detective’s shoulder to see his husband seated on the couch Calleigh hovering over him

“Mr. Wolfe process the body and the kitchen please”, he ordered Ryan wanting a word with Tripp. Ryan nodded hesitantly then did as he was told

“Wolfe’s been wondering what the kid’s doing at your place”, Tripp confirmed before Horatio could even ask. “But lucky for you”, he added taking care to keep his voice down. “We all arrived at the same time so… I sent Calleigh to check for points of entry while I went through the house”

Horatio understood just what the detective had taken care of for them. Whilst he and his husband hadn’t been stupid enough – considering their colleagues especially Calleigh and Alexx who Horatio was particularly close to could visit the house if needed – to leave any incriminating photos of themselves out in the open, their bedroom was another story

“I’ll process the house”, Speed offered as if he had read his boss’ mind. “I’ll ask Cal to stick to the outside”. He hesitated. “I’m guessing you’re not gonna be sensible enough to take yourself off the… that’s what I thought”, he said when Horatio’s glare told him to back off

“Am fine”, Eric mumbled when Horatio reached his side then promptly coughed his head off again. 

“Find him a glass of water would you please Calleigh”, the redhead requested the blond who left after shooting Eric a sympathetic smile. Horatio had looked like he’d happily chew the next person who came near him out without a second thought

Horatio sat down beside him on the couch and tilted the Cuban’s neck upward. Spotting the ligature mark around the neck made his heart clench and he squeezed Eric’s hand gently. Feeling rejected when his husband let go the next second he was about to become upset when he heard Alexx’s concerned voice and gave Eric a small if somewhat sheepish smile. “I’ll check in with Mr. Wolfe”, he said but stopped when Eric’s eyes turned panicky then sat back down. His husband’s relieved breath told him he had done the right thing

Eric flat out refusing a hospital – and annoying both the doctor and Horatio asked to be able to change his clothes; clothes which were still stained with blood

“Baby, you could have internal…”

“No”, he said firmly in a whisper having learnt the hard way that speaking out loud only aggravated the injury to his throat. “I just… I need…”. He needed to get away, to be somewhere where he could just… he needed Horatio plain and simple and a hospital would never give him that privacy

“One moment Alexx”, Horatio requested and Alexx backed off knowing if anyone could convince her stubborn young friend to do anything it was the redhead. “C’mon Eric”, Horatio said leading Eric away to one of the spare rooms. Helping him sit on the bed he wasn’t too surprised when Speed followed. 

“Frank’s outside the door”, the trace expert explained. “Glaring at anyone – mainly Natalia and Wolfe – when they even look this way”

“S… So… Sorry”, Eric stuttered realising he was making everyone suspicious. “Should never… cooking… can’t explain…”

“Eric”, Horatio said softly stopping his blabbering words. “It’s fine love, we’ll think of something”, he reassured his upset husband

“Already did”, Speed said. “Wolfe kept annoying me so I told him we’d received a threat against Eric. Frank backed me up. Calleigh’s mad she wasn’t in the loop but apart from that…”. He shrugged his shoulders

“Sor…”

“Stop apologising kid”, Speed interrupted him. “What’s important is you’re ok”

“The dead body… Stetler”

“Eric”, Horatio repeated. “I do not want you to worry about any of that. What I need you to do is go to the hospital with Alexx and…”

“No please”, Eric pleaded. “Please don’t leave me”. A startled Horatio quickly pulled him into a hug. 

“Ok love”, he said when Eric clung to him. “It’s ok love. I won’t leave you. I won’t leave you”

“He was stabbed in the chest”, Ryan explained when Speed stepped into the kitchen. “Looks like Delko was surprised in the middle of making dinner. He must have had the knife close by”. Speed nodded distracted

“Any ID on him?”, he asked the M.E. who was in the process of bagging the body. 

“No, but…”. She moved his t-shirt aside and he saw the tattoos. Eric had described what each one meant after all.

“Russian mob”

“Looks like it. How’s Eric?”

“He’ll be fine”, Speed muttered. “You guys find anything else?”

“Yeah a piece of paper covered in blood but we got enough to read Horatio’s address”, Ryan said handing him the transparent evidence bag

“We already knew someone was casing the house but how the hell did they get by the alarm”

“Cos it was never set”

“What?”, he asked flabbergasted. How the hell Eric could’ve been so careless he didn’t know. One thing was sure, Horatio wasn’t going to like this

“Ok?”, Horatio asked a few minutes later when Eric stopped shaking. 

“Sorry”, Eric said letting go of his stranglehold. “I just… I’ve never… I had to kill him”

“It was self-defense love”

“I know”, Eric snapped. “Sorry… I… I stabbed him H, I didn’t shoot him”

Horatio didn’t answer mostly because there wasn’t anything he could have said that wouldn’t have made things worse. He really didn’t think Eric was ready to hear something like, ‘I’m glad you did’. His eyes went over the young man to make sure he really was ok before he spotted the anomaly. “Love?”, he asked pointing to his husband’s ring finger. Eric blanched

“Here”, Speed said handing Horatio a small evidence bag. “Frank gave me this”. Eric spotting his wedding ring breathed a sigh of relief. “Might have been a little hard to explain if I had to log that in”. That earned him an eye-roll from the redhead. He groaned when Horatio removed his handkerchief. “Thought I got all the blood out”

“Just a tiny drop”, Horatio said making sure the ring was clean before he slipped it onto Eric’s finger making him finally feel settled

“Thanks”, Eric said not meeting Speed’s eyes. “I didn’t even…”

“Don’t all right. We got enough evidence to prove self-defence”

“You still need my statement”

“Let’s wait for Alexx to tell you, your throat is ok, Eric”, Horatio advised. Eric feeling the anger rising in him again was about to argue when his redhead held up a hand. “I’m not asking you to go to the hospital” Eric understood. Horatio wanted an iron-clad case before he spoke to Stetler.

“You might not wanna mention in that statement that you forgot to set the alarm for the front door”

“What the hell are you talking about? Of course I… Shit the delivery”. Eric raised his head as he turned white again. “I completely…”. His hand went to his mouth when he realised what he’d done. Horatio shot a now contrite Speed a glare. Eric hadn’t needed this

“No one, absolutely no one can be on their guard all the time love”, he said firmly as he grasped Eric’s chin to make sure his husband met his eyes. “It is ok if you forget”

“I knew someone was after me…”

“Yes, but…”

“Saris was here not even a week ago. The Russians have been targeting me for a while”. Eric’s voice was rising with each word he spoke. “And I still…”

“This is your house Eric. We expect ourselves to be safe in our home”

“You can’t actually defend what I did, I was fucking stupid”. The last bit was yelled loud enough for everyone outside to hear

“What was that about?”, Calleigh who’d been checking the front door asked mostly rhetorically

She received an answer anyway. “Speed must have told them Delko forgot to set the alarm”. Calleigh shrugged her shoulders

“No one can be on their guard all the time”

“Just what Horatio said”, Speed who had been thrown out by the redhead mumbled. “You get any prints off of it?”

“Nope, but considering the dead guy had gloves on… I wanted to know how he got in”

“Don’t tell me kid never locked the door either”

“No, our guy used a bump key”, Calleigh said holding up said key. “Ryan found it by the body”

“Wonderful”, Speed mumbled as he rubbed his forehead. “H and Eric can’t stay here”

“Poor guy, he’s getting tossed around”, Ryan said with a wince. “I’d ask him to stay at mine but I have a feeling he’d strangle me to death if I asked him to make sure the place was clean”

“Nah, I think Eric must be used to it by now because Horatio’s just as much as a neat freak as you”, Natalia who’d been on the outside said. “Apart from that wonderful herb garden he has which is just calling to me, I got nothing”

Speed, Calleigh and Alexx who had joined them smiled. “Timmy here uses it more than Horatio”

“What my apartment doesn’t have the space for one”, Speed protested defensively. “’Sides none of you complain when I cook you guys something”

The grim look on Tripp’s face wiped any amusement off of all of theirs. “Let me guess, Stetler”, Calleigh said and wasn’t too surprised when the sergeant nodded

Following Horatio’s instructions to the letter for once, Eric refused to talk to Stetler till Alexx said it was ok for him to use his throat. But he had also refused to stay at Speed’s and get some rest. Instead as per usual he hid out in Horatio’s office knowing he wouldn’t be disturbed in there. His wish was however thwarted when Natalia showed up

“I don’t know where H is”

“Yeah no, he’s gone somewhere with Frank. I was actually hoping to talk to you”, she said sitting down on the chair in front of the desk. Eric’s questioning look had her smile. “How are you?”, she asked and not wanting to get into it he shrugged his shoulders. She nodded and smiled again and Eric had the feeling she was upset with him. 

“What is it?”, he asked her directly not in the mood for games

“You and Horatio, how long ago did that happen?”

“What?”, Eric asked genuinely shocked wondering how the hell she had figured it out. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“C’mon Eric, you do realise I studied you guys for a while”

“Yeah I know, when you were spying on us”. Her smile turned slightly bitter

“So I know, when people try to cover something up”

“Look Natalia, say whatever you wanna say all right. I’m not playing 20 questions”

Natalia stood up in answer. “I’m not gonna out you Eric, I just thought you were my friend but I guess I’m not close enough to know anything. I mean I thought we had something for a while and I was just expecting it to…”

Eric was the one laughing bitterly now. “I trusted you once and you threw it in my face so let’s not talk about me keeping things from others”

Natalia stared at him in disbelief before she left. Eric lay back on the couch his head on the armrest, his eyes on the ceiling his mind whirring

“So he was definitely Russian mob?”, he asked Horatio distractedly a few hours later his mind still on his confrontation with Natalia, which he was admittedly yet to tell his redhead about

“Yeah”, Horatio agreed. Eric wasn’t too surprised when he was asked if everything was ok. He managed a nod knowing Horatio knew he was lying. 

“And… and the… case”

“Self-defense love”, Horatio said quietly. “You wanna get out of here”

“Speedle’s place?”

“Or, we could go to a hotel if you’d like. Tim might not be happy but I don’t mind”

“No I…”, he blabbered sitting up. “I can’t… You ever kill someone with your hands before”. Horatio nodded

“A couple of times”. He hesitated but then again it could help Eric. “I told you my parents died right? What I didn’t tell you was that my dad beat my mom to death and I…. I was there when it happened”. He didn’t actually say it but Eric figured it out and quickly knelt in front of him, his face horrified. That explained Horatio’s guilt complex

“You tried to help your mom”. Horatio nodded. “I’m so sorry Horatio”

“You… um… you aren’t mad I didn’t tell you….”

“Are you crazy?”, Eric exploded. “I can’t even… I can’t even imagine how you can talk about it now”. He sighed and sat down on the table resisting the urge to take Horatio’s hands in his own. “I’m really sorry you had to go through that”. Horatio’s hand reached up to cup his face but Eric moved back with a laugh. “Cameras H”, he reminded the older man who smiled sheepishly. Speed chose that moment to interrupt them

“Here”, he said handing them a set of keys. “I won’t be there tonight. What?”, he asked when Eric grinned. “I just thought you guys might like your privacy but if you’re ok with me crashing there”

“And this of course has nothing to do with anything else at all?”, Eric teased then rolled his eyes when Speed looked at his throat pointedly. “Doesn’t hurt and I’ve been sticking to warm water like Alexx said”

“Might be best to get it looked at”, Speed suggested while Horatio wisely chose to stay out of it. Contrary to what everyone believed it was usually Speed who bullied Eric into getting medical help

“Tim”, Eric protested. “Look if I feel worse tomorrow I’ll go see Alexx ok”, he bargained and Speed knowing he’d had a crappy day gave in

“Let me know when clean up crew is getting there Tim”, Horatio requested and Eric’s mind once more went back to the blood all over their kitchen. Speed’s sudden avoidance of his gaze told them exactly where the trace expert had planned on being that night. “No”, he said firmly. “I can…”

“Stay with the kid for tonight H, I’ll handle the house”

“Tim, no”, Eric said as well. “H is right… well half right, we can…”

“No you can’t”, Speed snapped then sighed. “I do not want you to go back to that. The two of you are the closest thing I have to family guys and if it was me… I wouldn’t want that reminder… so no… I am going to take care of it”

Horatio and Eric exchanged a glance then gave in

“Remind me again why the hell I’m giving up a night of drinking to do this?”, Tripp grumbled as he entered Horatio’s house his hands full of cleaning supplies Speed had asked him to pick up.

“Because you volunteered”, Speed said promptly making him roll his eyes

“If you’d give me those detective”. Travers who had joined them as well took Tripp’s load off his hands. 

“Fine”, Tripp gave in loosening his tie and taking his jacket off. “But the two of you owe me a beer”

He ignored the eye roll from the two trace experts


	19. Backstory and Interlude

She’d be singled out for nervously glancing all around her, but when Marisol Delko had been summoned to the Miami-Dade Crime lab after having been at the scene of a murder she hadn’t been able to help but feel uneasy. 

“Excuse me miss?”, a short Latina asked and she jumped. “Everything all right”

“Um, yeah”, Marisol answered then winced when she realised it had come out sounding like a question

“Can I see some ID please”, the detective she guessed from the badge at her hip, requested and she pulled out her licence. It wasn’t hard to realise her last name had been noticed and her face fell. “Marisol Delko… Delko as in…”

“Eric Delko yeah. He’s my little brother. Is he here?”, she asked looking around again and the short Latina raised an eyebrow. “My family’ll kill me if they find out I actually make a living working at a club. Even if it is nothing more glamorous than maintenance manager”. The detective chuckled handing her her ID back

“I know Eric, believe me I get it”, she said holding out her hand. “Adele Sevilla”. Marisol’s face told her Eric had mentioned her. “All right what did he say?”, she asked as the line advanced and Marisol stood face to face with a tall man in a lab coat

“Hold out your hands please”, he requested and she heard the British accent. Remembering Sevilla’s question she turned back to the detective

“Just that you always…”

“Annoy him”, Sevilla finished with a laugh. “Delko”, she said when Travers looked confused

“Ah our charming Eric”

“Yeah that’s one way to describe him”, Marisol muttered. “What I’m his older sister, I can think of other things”. The Brit chuckled. 

“Well you’re negative, so we’re all done here”

“What does that mean?”, Marisol asked confused then turned white when the answer came from behind her. 

“It means you didn’t fire a gun today”

“I’ve never fired a gun before”, she retorted on auto pilot. “Please don’t tell Eric”, she begged. A visibly amused Speed dragged her off

“Ms. Delko”, Travers said surprised to see her back at P.D. 

“Waiting for Eric”, Marisol explained. “I don’t think I caught a name”

“Oh sorry about that. Travers, Michael Travers. I work in the same field as Timothy”

“Wait, Timothy. Even my mom never calls Speed that”, she teased and Travers blushed

“I need a favour”

“Nope, not falling for that innocent act”

“Tim c’mon, please, pretty please, pretty pretty…”

“Marisol”, Speed groaned. “Fine what?”

“I need you to make sure Eric’s nowhere near a certain restaurant tomorrow evening”

“Travers finally ask you out”. He laughed at her stunned look. “Where the hell did you think he got your number from?”

“I didn’t think you’d approve”. Speed’s face turned soft, a look he’d deny ever having for anyone other than her and her brother. 

“You do realise, you’re your own person right. I mean I know Eric’s protective but…”

“I know”, Marisol said. “I also know he only does what he does because he cares. It’s just… Michael works with you guys and…”

“And nothing. Tell you what, as long as Travers treats you with respect fine… If not… Hey”, he protested when she socked him on the arm

“Marisol”. The soft baritone had her whirl around

“You’re Lt. Caine”, she said recognising him from Eric and Speed’s description

“And you’re Eric’s sister”. That brought her up short. As far as she knew Eric had never told Horatio Caine her name and he hadn’t been involved in the case in which she had been a witness a year ago. 

“You should have told me”, Travers admonished her when she opened the door. 

“Actually Speed shouldn’t have told you”, she snapped as she walked or rather staggered inside

He couldn’t help but be concerned and that set off her short fuse. “Why love… why would you want to face this alone?”

“I shouldn’t be your problem Michael”, she said tiredly indicating the smaller couch but he didn’t sit

“Is that what you believe I would have…”

“No”, she interrupted realising she had offended him. “Please sit”, she requested and he obeyed. “I… I was scared”, she admitted softly. “I still am Michael… Doctors… they think… I don’t have long”

“Doctors have been wrong before love. Surely Eric and Timothy told you that”

“They did… Speed especially. When he found out a few days ago”

“You never told anyone”, Travers realised horrified

“Not even mami and papi. As far as everyone knows I still have my job, my life, my boyfriend…”

“You still have me love”, Travers said taking her hand. “I never wished to leave you”

“I know and I… I am sorry Michael. I should have told you. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you”, she said quickly. “I just… I didn’t want you tied down to me… not when…”

“Not when what love?”

“Not when I can never give you anything. No kids, no big family…. Maybe not even a long married life”

“I never asked for anything more than you can give Marisol. It is true, I do wish to marry you, I do wish to have a houseful of kids, a white picket fence and all the jazz as you Yanks say”, he teased getting a smile out of her, “However you… you are important than all of that and I’d rather… I’d rather you be in my life no matter the length of time we spend”

“Michael”

“I can’t go through what I did these last few months love”

She couldn’t believe she’d been stupid enough to not just try to make a buy on her own but had gotten pinched for it as well. As the patrol cop asked her for her ID, Marisol instead of mentioning Eric and or Speed’s name handed them the card Horatio had given her not too long ago

Horatio wasn’t happy with what she had done if his face was any indication but when he noticed how scared she really looked his demeanour softened. Intervening on her behalf with Eric, he blunted the bulk of her brother’s anger and it was then that she knew… this was the man Eric had fallen for, the name he had refused to give had been that of his redheaded boss

Marisol knew her brother loved someone and deeply at that but to find out it was Horatio Caine… she not just approved, she decided she’d play matchmaker

“It’s just dinner”, she said when Horatio declined her invitation. She understood why he had done so. It was her brother he wanted not her. “Eric loves you”, she said being direct and he choked on air. “And you love him back. He’s an idiot Lt. Please don’t give up on him”

She wasn’t too surprised when he not just stopped her from walking away but also allowed her to cook him the meal

“Marisol made you dinner last night”. Horatio wanted to laugh at the possessive tone to Eric’s voice but carefully kept his face neutral. Apparently not as neutral as he wanted to he reflected the next moment as Eric’s hands began drumming a beat across his pockets; a clear sign he was agitated

“She did”, he admitted with a small smile. He had definitely had fun and while they clearly had no feelings for each other he had to admit she had been good company

Eric’s eyes widened before they darted all over the lot. “It’s just… she’s my sister… just a little… just freaked out a little”. Horatio’s focus returned to the young man who as Marisol had guessed he still loved. 

“Eric I…”

But Eric, as Marisol had believed he would, became upset and spoke over him. “It’s just not… you guys should be careful. I mean her cancer means… she… she doesn’t have…”. His hands went to his eyes and Horatio could clearly read the struggle on his face. He was trying so hard to curb his jealousy and be happy for his sister. Once more Horatio tried to tell him their relationship wasn’t anything other than platonic but Eric never gave him the opportunity. “I just don’t want you to get hurt”, he said then bolted

It wasn’t until the spa that Eric would find out the truth

“Eric what’s going on?”, Horatio asked when he almost barrelled into him at the elevator

“Where’s Marisol?”, Eric asked panicked

They would find a dead body at the house but no Marisol. They tracked her phone as a last resort. Horatio froze when he saw the address then repressed his groan. Eric was going to be pissed

Their yells were heard in the living room. “I should probably… um…”. Travers scratched his hair clearly nervous. “How about a cuppa Lt.?”, he asked at last and an amused Horatio accepted

“You didn’t know did you?”, Eric asked him poking his head into Horatio’s office. Horatio in answer indicated the chair in front of his desk. The young CSI hesitated but complied

“No I didn’t Eric. Marisol told me there was someone in her life but she never gave me a name”

“She… she tried to… she tried to make me jealous”. Horatio wanted to ask if it had worked but kept his mouth shut. He had promised himself that he would let Eric decide on their future after the last time they’d broken up. “And I…”. He forced himself to concentrate on the Cuban’s words. “And I realised she was right. I still… I still care…”. He shook his head. This was their workplace after all. “You think we can talk?”, he asked the redhead instead

“You need to tell mami and papi”, Eric said two weeks later when Marisol informed him of her impending nuptials to Travers. “Look Mari, they already know you’re dating someone, only they think it’s H as well. You need to tell them”

“What if they disapprove?”

“So they disapprove. It’s not as if I’m happy you’re doing this now”. His face softened. “Horatio kinda knocked some sense into me as did Speedle. And while I still can’t believe you told them before me…”. He smiled teasingly. “And I wanna ask if there’s something going on between you and… Ouch”, he muttered when she pinched his arm

It was a small ceremony with just Eric, his parents, his sisters, their husbands and of course Speedle… and Horatio who was getting to meet Eric’s family officially as their son’s lover for the first time

“They know about you”, Eric had said two nights ago when he had asked to introduce Horatio to his parents. Laughing at the stunned look on his redhead’s face he had explained that his parents had known about his sexual preferences since he was fourteen and had been… dating - his words, his parents had called it casual sex and told him guy or girl if he indulged in such behaviour they’d ground him till he turned eighteen – a boy from his school. “They’re actually really happy it’s you”, he had added kissing Horatio

Horatio came back to the present just in time to hear the couple exchange their vows. Gently squeezing Eric’s hand he wondered if they would ever have something like that someday

“Thank you”, he said later that evening when the newlyweds were about to depart. “For everything”

“C’mon Horatio”, Marisol said her eyes going to her drunk brother who was having an animated conversation with Jack, her brother-in-law. “The two of you belong together and Eric just… he just needed a push”

“We both did”, Horatio admitted. Eric hadn’t been the only one who’d been stubborn and stupid. Eric’s loud laughter reached him and he chuckled. His lover was usually a jolly drunk and that meant he’d be amused for the rest of the night. “Take care guys”, he said shaking hands with the couple before he gathered his smashed lover in his arms

“Had a feeling I might find you here”

“Marisol always said you were the nosy one. How are you Ariessa?”, Travers asked as he took his eyes off of his wife’s grave

“I don’t know. Eric’s still not waking up, Horatio won’t leave the hospital, Tim looks like crap and you’re hanging out here”

“I came to say hello”

“Yeah the flowers told me that. You ok?”

“Fine, why wouldn’t I be?” He earned himself a shrugged shoulder. “So what’s new in your life?”, he asked just to avoid the look on her face that said ‘I know something you don’t’. Times like these made him wonder if Eric was just a delayed twin of Ariessa’s

“I have a one year old. My life is my baby”. He laughed at her complaining tone. “So Eric said you went out on a date a few weeks ago. How did that go?”

“Definitely the nosy one”

“Ah c’mon, I’m a boring housewife now. I need some action”

“It did not…”

“What work out? Damn, why wouldn’t it work out. I mean she was hot, single, sexy from what Eric says and… and she’s not my sister. You can’t live alone your whole life Michael”

“I did not realise you were a life coach Ariessa”

“Marisol would want you to be happy”

“And I am. I have a great work environment, an amazing boss, good friends and a lovely family. I have never been happier. And it is all because of my love”

“Michael…”

“Till death do us apart. I meant that vow and it isn’t her death that does us apart, it is mine as well”. He stood up and turned away his fists clenched, trying not to display his emotions. “My shift…” – he even managed a smile. “My shift starts in an hour and traffic this time of the day is… not something to be trifled with. I will see you later Ariessa”

All Ariessa could do was nod and watch him walk away. “You my dear sister”, she said turning back to the grave. “Landed yourself a great one. Juliet would have been jealous”


	20. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok to the people reading this an explanation and some bad news. I normally write stories I like to read which is why if a fan fiction site has the kind of stories I want I never write about that fandom or very rarely write about that fandom. CSI Miami has few good stories about Eric and if there are some they're all EC. Not one had anything about his struggle after the shooting. None that I remember anyway so I wanted to write a chapter on that. 
> 
> The reason for the explanation is I'm kinda stuck on that part which is the next chapter. I do actually have the next two to three chapters and the ending sketched out but till I get this one right this story is going to stall just a bit
> 
> I also know I'm making Sharova a not so bad guy but I can't help it... Writers and plot holes. Eric gets him out in the last episode of S7 and I needed my own explanation for it

“Can I ask you something without getting my head blown off? Or that glare”, Speed asked making Eric chuckle.

“Look my neck is fine. I even went back to work remember. And do you think H would have let me back in the lab otherwise?”

“Oh please, that guy’s just as much as a hypocrite as you. That’s not what I wanted to ask you though”

“Yeah ok”, he said wary again

“How come you were never jealous of H and Suzie?”

“What?”, he asked not having expected the question. “Why the hell would I be jealous of H and her?” It took him a minute and he laughed. “Come on man. Those rumours were stupid. H met her on the tweaker case for the first time”

“Could have been lying”

“Yeah sure, he could’ve but… he didn’t. And you wanna know why I was so sure”. Stalling he looked around the boardwalk which considering it was a bright sunny day was crowded mostly filled with tourists and… 

“Let it go. It’s our day off”, Speed said when he spotted what looked like a drug deal as well. Eric sighed. He knew Speed was right, plus they were technically CSIs not narcotics. “Eric”. Speed groaned but all Eric did with the phone was take a picture of the dealer. 

“What? I’ll get this to narco, they’ll get a bust and we’ll make some new friends. You know you could try playing nice with others”

“And you’re not answering my question”

“Speedle. Fine”, Eric said when Speed wouldn’t let it go. “I know I get jealous when H talks to… has a connection with anyone and no disrespect to Suzie but do you really see the guy hanging out with someone like her”. Speed had to concede the answer was no. “I know you guys think I’m an idiot but I’m not that big of an idiot Tim”

“Hey”, the trace expert protested. “You got jealous of me. Me dammit and I’m not even gay”

Eric laughed at the complaining tone. “Yeah but you and H go way back. Who knows there was a possibility you had a crush on him and never acted on it?”

Speed knew he’d asked for it. “C’mon”, he said dragging the Cuban off. “You’re buying me lunch”

“What?”, Eric groused when Speed caught him staring at a beautiful woman two tables over who seemed to be there with her family. “Just lookin’”, he mumbled sinking in his seat. The trace expert chuckled then heard a loud noise. He blacked out a second later

He woke up to the sensation of wetness down his cheek, felt a hand tap his arm, then his chest. “’m”, he muttered and even that one syllable seemed to be too much for his stomach. He turned to his left and threw up.

“Tim”, he heard the panicked voice say and resisted the urge to ask it to shut up

“M”, he mumbled again. “’W’ke”

“Open your eyes then”, the voice ordered; voice he realised he recognised

“’R’c”

“Yeah Tim, need you to open your eyes ok. I need to know you’re ok before I can help the others”

“’Th’rs”. He opened his eyes cautiously and when the expected pain of a hangover never hit opened them the rest of the way. It was then that he spotted the disaster area that had been their restaurant not even a few minutes earlier

“Eric, Speed”, he heard his boss yell and groaned as his headache spiked

“Here H”, Eric answered taking care to make sure he wasn’t speaking too loudly and Speed promised himself that he was going to buy Eric all the liquor he wanted for a while. He didn’t realise his friend knew how to be considerate

“Tim”. Suddenly Horatio was helping him sit up. “C’mon buddy, hospital”

“No freakin’ way”, Speed groused. He had promised himself after his shooting that he was never going back to a hospital; at least not as a patient

“Tim”, Horatio repeated but Speed let his glare speak for him

“Not happening”, he said when Horatio didn’t back down. His eyes roamed over the restaurant floor and to a relatively uninjured Eric who was helping a young man to his feet and getting him outside. “Damn”, he muttered when he saw the woman Eric had been sneaking glances at lying on the floor, clearly dead. “What the fuck happened?”, he asked as he managed to get himself to his feet; with a lot of Horatio’s help of course

“Don’t know yet”, Horatio admitted as he guided Speed to the back of an ambulance. “Dispatch said explosion”

Speed nodded in agreement. “I remember seeing a flash… wait a minute. Something landed on the table next to ours. Maybe even two somethings. Could have been a grenade”, he said with a shrug then winced when the left side of his body protested the movement. Ignoring Horatio’s pointed look, he indicated the window. “Pretty sure it landed on the guy… old, white, one table over”

“Ok”, Horatio said with a resigned sigh. “Be back in a minute” 

“And you say I scare you”, Calleigh commented her voice a mixture of exasperation and worry when she spotted Speed on the back of the Hummer. “You should at least let a paramedic take a look at that”

“Already done”, Speed muttered. “And you do scare me more. Both you and the kid”

“Are you saying you don’t have a concussion?”, she asked sceptical and he rolled his eyes. She let out a relieved breath when he didn’t wince. “What, trust but verify when it comes to you, Eric and Horatio. All three of you lie about your health”

“I don’t believe I’m as bad as them ma’am”, Horatio said from behind her and she chuckled

“Oh please Horatio you’re the worst amongst us”

“You said us”, Eric said in a teasing tone. “Medics clear you?”

Speed groaned. “Stop with the mother henning would you. You didn’t”, he said in disbelief when Eric looked away. “Which one?”, he asked resigned to his fate. 

“Alexx… and Jack”, Eric added with a wince

“Which means Carmen knows as well. You’re doing any and all dumpster dives for the next year”

“Hey”, Eric protested. “H is anyways taking us off the case. You can’t add to my misery”

“Material witnesses gentlemen. Don’t even bother arguing”, Horatio said and Speed shut his mouth with a snap

“Kyle”. Eric’s panicked voice had Horatio shaking his head. 

“He’s fine Eric”

“Dad’s right, I’m ok. Officer Wolfe got me out of the way”, Kyle added but that didn’t stop Eric from looking him over

“What the hell happened?”, he snapped. His face softened when Kyle turned away. “Didn’t mean to blame you Kyle. I was there and I didn’t spot the grenade either. No one did”

“I just…” Kyle gripped his hair. “Maybe Santi’s right. Maybe I’m not cut out for this”

“Cut out for what?”, Horatio asked confused. Both Eric and Kyle froze. “Cut out for what?”, Horatio repeated tone sterner. “Kyle?”

“I… I just… thought… asked…”

“Kyle asked Santi about his experiences in the army”. Horatio’s eyes widened

“What? Why would you need to know…? Kyle listen to me, why did you ask him that?”

“Because I wanted to sign up you know. I just… I just thought it’d be a way for me to do some… something right”

“There are other ways to help people Kyle”. Eric couldn’t help but chuckle

“I’m sorry Horatio but that argument didn’t work on me when I was around Kyle’s age. Dad wanted me to join him at work remember. Kyle knows what he wants”, he said for once being firm where the young man was concerned. “You guys should talk”. He left them alone with that

“I couldn’t have told you not without…” Eric stopped blabbering at the amusement he could spot on his husband’s face and smiled sheepishly. “Kyle didn’t want you to … in case it didn’t work, he didn’t wanna disappoint you”

“I understand Eric”, Horatio said. “I will admit it was a shock but… Who am I kidding? It’s still a shock. I don’t even wanna imagine him in some far away country where…”

“You aren’t there to protect him?”, Eric finished for him gently. “You know you can’t always do that right?”

“I know love”, Horatio admitted. “I just… I just found him”

“He’s just joining the army Horatio. He will still be there in your life”

“Promise?”, Horatio asked for once seeking reassurance

“None of the people you love are leaving you anytime soon H. I promise”

“Alex, was wondering what happened to you”, Eric said by way of greeting when Sharova called.

“You mean you were wondering if I had… left… again”

“Something like that”, Eric admitted sheepishly. “Sorry”, he added quickly and heard his biological father laugh

“I had to… do some things… for someone”. The pauses told Eric he didn’t want to know what Sharova had been up to. He hesitated. While he was beginning to care for the older man he also acknowledged that the two of them were on the opposite sides as far as the law was concerned and while he also knew or hoped Horatio wouldn’t put him in a position where he’d have to arrest Sharova, he also couldn’t give the man any breaks either. “I understand Eric”, Sharova said as always showing that uncanny ability to read him even over the phone. “I hope I will never make you choose”

“Just… just be careful Alex”, Eric said and fearing his emotions getting the better of him, hung up

“You ok”. He nodded then shook his head no

“Sharova called”

“He say what he wanted?”

“Just checking in I guess”

“Eric”

“I know Horatio”, Eric said tiredly. “I know he’s Russian mob, I know I’m supposed to keep my distance and…”

“That’s not what I was gonna say Eric”. His posture told him Eric didn’t believe him. Horatio encircled him by the hips with a sigh. “You know that vacation we talked about… New York?”

“Yeah?”, Eric asked him warily wondering if Horatio was going to say he was needed here at the lab

“After… after Yelina can come… come home I was hoping we’d both take a few months off. Like a sabbatical of sorts. I mean Calleigh and Speed can run the lab just as efficiently as me and we have Mr. Wolfe and Natalia to help us. Walter from night shift wants to move to days as well and I can…”. Eric cut him off with a desperate kiss

“You… you mean that?”, he asked when they broke apart. “The time off”

“Hm, hm yeah… I… I was also hoping we could tell Calleigh, Alexx and Mr. Wolfe about us. I mean I wouldn’t want to announce it from the rooftops but maybe if the lab knows… Love?”, he asked when Eric laughed a light carefree laugh

“I. Would. Love. That”, he said inter-spreading the words with gentle kisses

“Ok spill”

“Say what?”, Ryan asked trying to play innocent and earned himself an eye-roll. 

“You may not be as bad as Eric but I do know you too kid so spill”

“You do realise you aren’t that much older than us. Sir”, Ryan added when Speed glared

“Spill”, Speed repeated. “Something’s bothering you”

Ryan sat back down on the bench in the locker area tiredly. “I saw something I probably shouldn’t have”

Speed, who was normally passive couldn’t help but be shocked. “Something… something not legal?”, he asked carefully

“I’m not sure”, Ryan admitted

“Wolfe?”

Ryan hesitated then shook his head stubbornly. “If I say something without knowing more… I could destroy someone’s life”

Speed looked around them carefully to ensure they were alone then lowered his voice. “A while ago when Eric was new to the lab… he… he tried to protect one of us”, he said not giving names. “And while this person was innocent and everything was eventually ok… I’ll tell you the same thing Horatio told him that day, if you’re watching someone’s back, tell one of us… Let us watch yours”

Ryan had to admit he was touched but he’d already gotten Eric into trouble once because of his friend. He wasn’t going to do the same to Speed. “I promise if I can’t handle this I’ll go to H”. Speed knew he had to be satisfied with that

“I’m glad dad’s not mad at you”, Kyle said a couple of days later as he hung around Horatio’s house with Eric after work. “I mean… I just thought… When Santiago said he’d been in the army”

“You wanted to make Horatio proud of you”. Eric laughed at Kyle’s sour look. “Your dad has that effect on people Kyle”, he said with a self-deprecating chuckle. “All of us at the lab work as hard as we do for him”

Kyle nodded then moved on to the real reason he’d shown up here. “You… you ever see… draw conclusions on your own”

“What do you mean?”

Kyle shrugged his shoulders. “Just what I said. You ever think something’s wrong without knowing what it is?”

“What like a gut feeling? Did you… did you mean Julia?”, Eric asked when Kyle remained mum

“No”, Kyle said shaking his head. “Mom’s fine. I even spoke to her earlier today. I mean she’s mad at dad sure and wants me to move back in with her but… she looked at my new place and said dad had taste. I just… I’m just scared something big’s around the corner”

Eric knew he had two choices. He could either treat Kyle like the kid he was and dismiss his concern with a joke… and considering Kyle hadn’t even trusted him enough to talk more than two sentences to him at one point… “I feel that too”, he admitted then gave him the bare bones of their encounters with the Russian mob instinctively knowing the teen couldn’t be involved with that. “You try talking to… to… Dr. Price about… Kyle did this happen in the morgue?”, he asked worried when Kyle clammed up again

“You know what I think I hear dad”, Kyle said then bolted

Speed was surprised when he found Eric walk… not exactly back and forth but hesitate around the steps to Horatio’s office. And considering he’d been wanting to tell the redhead about Ryan’s concerns and Eric was here looking nervous as hell. He grabbed the Cuban’s collar

“Ryan’s not exactly close to Tara but he’s being weird and so is Kyle. I don’t think it’s a coincidence”, Speed said tossing a glance at his glowering friend. “I hate to ask this but are we sure Julia stole the meds”

“Kyle never said anything about Tara”, Eric snapped feeling betrayed. He hadn’t known if he wanted to tell Horatio about his concerns but his choice had been snatched away when Speed had cornered him. Eric who had never been able to hide anything from Speed had vomited everything the blond had come to him with

Horatio who had remained silent till now raised his head from his paperwork. “We have absolutely no proof gentlemen. We cannot make accusations against anyone. That being said”, he added before Eric could celebrate. “We cannot have someone in the morgue who could be compromised. I will handle the situation from now on”. Both Eric and Speed knew they had to be satisfied with that

“I’m sorry kid”, Speed said softly when Eric still looked mad as hell a couple of hours later

“Don’t all right”, Eric snapped. “I know you care about this lab Tim but people are important too. Now Kyle’s never gonna trust me”

“Not even if we clear Julia’s name. Kyle cares about his mom”

“That’s not what this is about for you, is it?”, Eric snapped again. “You didn’t do it for her”

“You’re right. For me this is about the lab”. Eric looked betrayed and he shrugged his shoulders. “This lab is Horatio’s life, it’s where you work, Calleigh can’t stay away from this place and neither can Ryan, Michael, Frank, hell even Alexx still sees this place as home. And it’s my home too Eric. The lab isn’t just a workplace to me, no matter how many times I might have tried to tell you all that. When I came in broken this place gave me my life back. If it weren’t for Megan hiring me, I might be one of the bad guys you put away, so yes I will always choose this place”. Not backing off for once he held Eric’s gaze firmly and it was the Cuban who dropped his eyes first

“So what about us? If you had to choose between me and the lab…”. He was dragged to his feet by his collar

“Is that what you truly believe?”, Speed asked enraged. “Remember the number of times I’ve covered your ass even with H and tell me I chose the lab over you”

“Tim?”, Calleigh intervened shocked. “What the hell are you doing?”

Speed for once wasn’t willing to let it go. “Sorry all right”, Eric said snatching his collar back. “I was wrong. I’m sorry”

“Yeah right”, Speed muttered and stalked off

“What the hell happened?”, Calleigh asked a forlorn Eric who didn’t have an answer


	21. Backstory 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what a bullet to a brain does and any description of Eric's struggles is part creative licensing and part taken from his own descriptions in seasons 5 and 6

He stared at his shoes knowing there was something he was supposed to be doing to make sure they were snug on his feet. Something with the two pieces of thread hanging out from them. “Love?”, Horatio asked from the door to their room and he murmured something unintelligible in response his mind still on his footwear. “Can I help?”

Resentment flared in him at the intrusion. He was tiring of the watchful eyes, the offer for help whenever he faltered, the way everyone around him treated him as if he was an explosive device counting down to zero, or an imbecile incapable of a simple task… like putting on his shoes for a walk

“I can do it myself”, he said stubbornly his hand going to the laces. He knew he was tying them wrong when he got them all mixed up. The shoe felt painful on his foot and he tried to undo the knots, only succeeding in making them even tighter. Horatio knelt beside him brushed his shaking hands away and worked on them patiently. It took him a minute but for the redhead who had handled numerous explosive devices in his time with the bomb squad, laces were a piece of cake. 

“There”, he said when he finished and smiled up at his stubborn lover. Eric’s anger was draining at the understanding but he still wasn’t willing to let go of it entirely. Horatio held up a hand and he helped his redhead up. “You ready to get out of here?”

A small smile made its way to his face. This was the first time in days… weeks after his shooting, he was getting to go out on his own two feet to somewhere that wasn’t the hospital. In the beginning he hadn’t been able to do much anyway because of the pain in his head. His whole life had been reduced to either struggling through the fog the morphine brought or trying not to cry out when his meds wore out and his head felt like it would explode. Plus there had been the memory loss. He still had trouble remembering a lot of things, like tying his shoe laces for instance. The other day Speed had remarked casually on a CSI named Ryan Wolfe and all Eric had been able to dredge up were a pair of green eyes and a sore attitude

But he was remembering more and more. His numerous fights with Horatio, his sister’s machinations in getting them together, her wedding…

He still couldn’t recall the day she had died. According to Horatio he’d been there when she’d been shot

“Love”

“Hm, hm”, he murmured automatically. “Where’s Tim?”, he asked looking for a way to stall Horatio from asking where he’d been lost at

“He’s joining us at the park love”

“I knew that”, he snapped when he heard the worry

“I never told you that Eric”, Horatio said with a sigh. “I only told you Speed would…”

“What is this an interrogation?”, Eric interrupted him harshly

“No love. I was only trying to… I wasn’t trying to say you were wrong. I only wanted you to know you hadn’t…”

“What forgotten. I already know I don’t even know what day it is so thanks a lot”

That had been another thing he had been struggling with; he had believed the year to be 2004, not surprising considering his last concrete memories were of Speed’s shooting and his convalescence in the hospital. “Ok Eric”, Horatio said giving in with another sigh and he wondered if his redhead was breaking too. “How about we start now?” Horatio stood up and helped his lover up. Eric suddenly kissed him hard pouring every ounce of love he felt in that one gesture knowing he wasn’t being fair to his redhead. He didn’t realise he was crying, or perhaps both of them were, not until he tasted the saltiness on his lips

“It’s ok love”, Horatio said voice shaking, “It’s ok, I’m not going anywhere. It’s ok”

“Hey thought you’d be bouncing by now”, Speed who had begun the trek towards their home when Eric and Horatio had been delayed said when he spotted them. “What took you guys so long?”

Once more Eric muttered something unintelligible then pushing past Speed to avoid the questions began walking ahead of them at a faster clip. His right foot gave way and his friend and lover being just out of reach to intervene he crashed

“Eric”, Horatio said the panic in his tone clear as he reached the Cuban in two steps. “Are you all right?” Eric his eyes burning from shame and pain turned his head away

“Eric?”, Speed asked concerned as well and he resisted the urge to snap. He had stupidly once again forgotten that he hadn’t just been shot on his head. His thigh had also taken a bullet and his pace just wasn’t what it was used to being

“Maybe we should go back home love”, Horatio said getting him to his feet and he quickly shook his head no. Despite everything the fresh air was making him feel alive again and he wanted to experience as much of it as possible

“’M fine”, he mumbled. “Let’s go”

“Kid, your leg…”

“My leg’s fucking fine”, he yelled losing it startling a couple of passers-by. Speed met his eyes for a second before he looked away clearly biting his bottom lip to keep from saying anything. Eric’s face burned again. All he had wanted was a simple walk in the park with the people he cared about but he was ruining it just as he had managed to with everything ever since he’d woken up. Maybe it would have been better off if he had died from the bullet

“Are you nuts?”, Speed yelled himself grabbing his collar while Horatio tried to get the trace expert to back off. Eric didn’t understand for a second and it took the anguished look on his redhead’s face to realise he’d said the words out loud. 

“’M sorry”, he muttered not wanting to hurt his friends. “Didn’t mean to say it”

“But you did think it”, Horatio said wearily and Speed his own emotions all over the place moved away a couple of steps from the private conversation

He wasn’t a fool of course. He had recognised that the shooting had changed his friend, after all considering the physical and physiological challenges Eric had had to get used to, how could it not. What he hadn’t expected was for the overly optimistic Cuban to become depressed

Suddenly Eric was in front of him biting his lips, his expressive eyes looking guilty. Speed gently squeezed the younger man’s shoulder and even managed a half-smile. “I’m sorry kid. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just worried is all”

“I know. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…”. A flash of fear made its way across to Eric’s face before he turned away. “Can we go now?”, he asked his tone exhausted

Speed exchanged a glance with a tense Horatio and nodded

“I… I thought it was time for the doctor’s kid?”, Carlos Santiago, Ariessa’s husband who had come to pick him up asked surprised when he found Eric in shorts and t-shirt a book in hand. Eric stiffened. He had been very specific when he called Horatio and told him he wasn’t going

“Didn’t H call you?”, he asked knowing instinctively that it wasn’t just crossed wires. Carlos shifted guiltily and he had his answer. “’M fine. My physical therapy is over”, he said a finality to his tone which Carlos obviously ignored

“I thought this was to your shrink”. Eric closed his eyes and clenched his fists to avoid snapping.

“I cancelled the appointment. You wanna stay for lunch stay, otherwise am sure dad’s got a million things lined up for you”, he added knowing working for his dad wasn’t easy

“Pavel said to take the afternoon off. How often does that happen huh?”, Carlos said with a smile, a very fake, very wide smile. “So how about you and me…?”

“What the fuck am I a kid, you can take to the hospital by promising ice cream?”, he snapped his anger getting the better of him. “I’m not going, deal with it”, he said then went to his room and slammed the door shut

“I don’t like him, he makes me feel like an idiot”, Eric said voice low and defensive hoping against hope Horatio would understand and let the matter go

“Ok, then we can find someone else…”

“I know how to count. I even got the date right on that document you had me sign yesterday. This idiot has me adding up numbers”

“He was just trying to…”

“You don’t go through the humiliation so don’t tell me that all right”, Eric yelled

“You need to be certified to go back to work love”, Horatio said maintaining his calm demeanour and that only set Eric off even more. “If you don’t like your therapist we can find someone else from the department or even someone outside. Alexx can give us some names”

“I don’t wanna talk to someone about my problems. I don’t wanna talk period. I’m tired of people asking me how I’m doing. Why can’t you all accept that I’m fine”

“Cos you got shot”, Horatio snapped becoming angry himself. “We all lost you for a few minutes and we all just worry. Would you have preferred it if we had all just left you to fend for yourself?”

“So I’m supposed to be grateful you all participated in my humiliation?”, Eric who had been spoiling for a fight yelled right back. “Was it fun to you when I couldn’t remember getting back together with you, Marisol’s wedding, her cancer, her dying. I forgot some things before, yes. Why can’t you just accept that I’m fine now”

“Because you couldn’t make your coffee this morning. I had to do it for you”. Horatio regretted his words the minute he said them. “I’m sorry love, that’s not what I…”

“My hands were shaking cos of my meds”, Eric said his fear plain. “I didn’t ask you for it cos I… I can remember. I’m not… I’m not crazy and I…”

“Eric no”, Horatio interrupted him. “No one… no one said you… Is that what your therapist thinks? Cos he’s wrong Eric. I just… I can’t help you the way you need love. None of us can and you know… you of all people know it’s ok to have someone take care of us when we are sick. You did that for Marisol for months Eric. All I wanted, all everyone who loves you wants is for you to get better and that takes time and sometimes that takes someone who isn’t family. We… we help people on their worst days Eric. We do it every time for someone who comes to us for help. Is it humiliating to ask a witness to repeat their story because they may have forgotten some details due to the trauma they suffered? You were hurt love”, he added taking Eric’s hand in his infinitely glad when he wasn’t just rebuffed. “And I… I panic sometimes. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night wondering if the last few days were a dream and if you had… You died Eric, for… for almost ten minutes, your heart… it stopped. I was there. They almost called your time of death and I…”

“I’m so sorry you had to see that”, Eric said when Horatio faltered. “But I’m here H”. He guided Horatio’s hand to his still beating heart. “I’m here and I’m alive and I just… Believe me I’m glad to be here. I just… I just feel you’re here just cos you think you got me shot and… it scares me. You’re the best thing that happened to me and…”

“I did get you shot”, Horatio said firmly. “But… you got shot doing your job. A job I may have ordered you to do but you do it to the best of your ability and I’m not going to insult you by making it either of our fault. Clavo Cruz is the only one to blame for what happened. And I’m here cos I love you… and I…”. His voice broke again but he recovered swiftly. “And I can’t imagine a life without you. I would take you how you are Eric. I don’t want you to go to your therapist for me but for you, because you… your job is your life love and I don’t want you to lose that”

“My life is you”, Eric said simply. “But you are right about one thing. CSI does mean a lot to me so… Fine. I’ll talk to Alexx. Happy now?”

Horatio’s answer was a gentle kiss

“Love you need to sleep”, Horatio murmured when Eric shifted for the nth time that night. “Eric”, he protested when Eric sat up

“I can’t sleep”, Eric complained throwing his covers off. “I’m gonna make myself…”

“What another coffee?”, Horatio asked amused pulling him back down and top of himself. “I realise you’re nervous about going back but… if you don’t sleep now, you’re gonna fall asleep at your desk and then your boss might have to dock your pay”

“Ha ha”, Eric grumbled but Horatio’s tousled hair and beautiful lips were inviting and he couldn’t help but kiss him. “Maybe”, he muttered kissing Horatio again. “I just need to be tired enough. Got any ideas?”, he asked mischievously. Horatio glared knowing Eric could feel just aroused he was. 

“One”, he muttered covering the Cuban’s lips with his own again silencing him effectively

There wasn’t exactly a welcome back party at CSI but when a nervous Eric walked into the building at eight the next morning, there was a small gathering in the breakroom. Wolfe was the first one to reach him. “Welcome back man”, he said clapping him on the shoulder. “Place just hasn’t been the same without you”

Travers, Cooper, Natalia, Valera and Alexx all disappeared one by one leaving him with Horatio, Speed and Calleigh. Horatio departed as well with a short nod and a gentle but proud smile. A smile Eric couldn’t help but return. Speed handed him a cup of his coffee and Eric was truly floored at the gesture. Speed hated his coffee

Calleigh kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re back”, she said her feelings of relief plain

“Thanks”, he murmured voice slightly rough. “Am glad to be here too”

“If you need anything, anything at all, I want you to ask me all right”

“I will I promise”. All three of their pagers beeped. “Got a dead body in a house”

“Me too”

“The Glades”, Speed said with a long-suffering sigh then turned pleadingly to Eric

“Sorry man”, Eric said tone not the slightest bit apologetic. “Haven’t been recertified to dive yet and you know with the Glades it’ll be a water one for sure”

Speed glared. “I hate you Delko”, he sniped

Eric and Calleigh waited for him to leave to laugh out loud


	22. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not seen the last two episodes of season 7 as much as I have the other ones. That is I know the story but that's it, so dialogues in this are my own

They stopped at a building he didn’t recognise. 

“What’s up H, I thought we were just driving to work together?”, Eric asked curiously especially when he took in the nervous look on Horatio’s face. “Everything ok?”

“Um, yeah… I… I mean… everything’s fine. I just”. Horatio took a deep breath. “Do you recall the waitress I had to help out during the investigation”

“Yeah she had her kids taken away or something right?”

“Hm, hm that’s right. This is the temporary facility CPS uses to house children whose parents are deemed unfit to be caregivers”

“Ok”, Eric stretched the word out not knowing where Horatio was going with this.

“I… I wondered if you wouldn’t…” The pager beeped at exactly the wrong moment as far as Eric was concerned. The flash of frustration followed by momentary relief on his husband’s face intrigued him. “How about… how about we deal with after the case is over”

“Yeah sure”, Eric agreed with an amused smile

The call came while he was in the middle of the crime scene. Startled to the see the number for the second time in a week he mumbled an excuse to Calleigh and moved away to take it. “Everything ok?”, he asked tone tense

“Yes of course”, Sharova said sounding surprised. “Should it not be”

His left hand drummed a beat on the pocket of his jeans, a nervous tell he’d never been able to get rid of. “Yeah no. I… You just called all of a sudden”

He could hear the smile in the words. “Just checking in Eric, I promise. Also I wished you to not become concerned in case you did not hear from me for a little while again”

“Alex”, Eric said frustrated, wishing Sharova didn’t keep going back to the Russians. “Why won’t you let me and Lt. Caine help you?” He suddenly became aware of the curious looks of the patrol cops and Travers and Dr. Price who were still with Calleigh. “I… I gotta go. I’m at work”, he said not giving Sharova a chance to answer, not even sure if he wanted an answer. “Just… just please be safe”

“I will be fine child”, Sharova said gently. “Please do not worry about me. You have a wonderful life with a wonderful man Eric. Live it to the fullest with your family. And…”, he paused then continued hesitantly. “Keep an old man in your prayers”. He hung up before Eric could answer

He should have known Calleigh wouldn’t just let his call in the middle of the crime scene go. 

“Who was that on the phone?”

“That was the lab. They were calling about some prints I lifted yesterday”

He felt horrible lying to her like that but where he could have told Speed about Sharova, Calleigh he knew for a fact would never understand. Luckily enough for him they found a lead pretty quickly

“Everything all right?”, he asked his husband when he found Horatio in the middle of the corridor outside the trace lab, sunglasses in hand, a worried look on his face

Horatio seemed startled to find himself not alone. “Um, yeah… no… everything’s fine. Kyle called”, he said giving in looking and sounding exhausted. “Julia… Julia’s been constantly asking him to come home”

Eric sighed. While he himself had always been lucky his parents got along despite the problems every married couple had after a while, Horatio had never known such a situation. Having lost his parents to not so normal circumstances at a young age he had never experienced the possibility of a separation. Add in the fact that he had known he was a father only two years ago and having to deal with an explosive character like Julia and his redhead was having trouble being on top of this like he did most things in life

“I know… I know you hate hearing this but there isn’t much you can do except talk to her Horatio. You can mediate but at the end of the day this has to be Kyle’s choice. All we can do is stand by him. What?”, he asked when Horatio suddenly smiled

“What would I do without you?”, his redhead asked and he laughed lightly

“You never have to find out”. Luckily enough for him Horatio’s gaze shifted to the top of his head and they found Wolfe hovering. Eric knew he’d been saved from outing them because all things considered he had been leaning in for a kiss. “I gotta go. Log this is”, he said holding the evidence bag he’d collected from the pool boy

“You ok?”

“Yeah fine”, Speed snapped in response to Calleigh’s innocent question then sighed. “Sorry, long day”

“It just started. You’ve been to one crime scene”

He managed a half smile at her exasperated and hurt tone. “You know I only meant the crime scene. You know what…” – he spotted Travers in the corner. “Michael can you…?”, he requested pointing to the results he’d been waiting on

“I can take care of it Timothy”, Travers offered his own concern plain and Calleigh realised she hadn’t been the only one to notice the dark cloud over her boyfriend’s head ever since his very public fight with Eric a few days ago

“Wanna coffee?”, Speed asked avoiding her eyes

“Yeah sure”, she agreed with that bright fake smile

“It’s not… It’s not the mess with Eric”, he said as they sat on a wall in the roof parking lot with their beverages. “I just… Ryan came to me with something and…”

“I don’t understand”

“Tara’s been… acting odd lately”

“To be fair so has Eric”, Calleigh pointed out then told him about the phone call. “When does he step away from a scene like that?”

“I don’t know maybe it was a girl.”, Speed said mockingly

“That’s just it Tim” - Calleigh never lost her serious attitude. “I think he’s in a relationship with someone so it can’t just be some girl like before”

“What do you mean?”, Speed asked heart hammering in his chest as he fought to maintain his calm attitude. “Maybe it’s the mess with the Russians and his birth certificate”

“Ok”, Calleigh gave in with a nod. “Tara’s been odd how?”

“You know my scene with Natalia today? Now you know I’m not a fan of Boa Vista, Cal but the way Tara snapped at her for a simple question. It’s like she didn’t wanna be there. She’s just… I don’t know… been… grumpy lately. What, I’m always grumpy”, he protested at her pointed look and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Very funny”, he muttered

“Did you talk to Horatio about this?”

“Not… not exactly. I told him… I gave him vague details on Ryan’s very vague details but… What do I tell him Cal? That I don’t get along with someone. That’s a known fact in this place”

“Not always Tim. You do everything in your power to help all of us. Even Boa Vista as… as much as she does not ‘get along with you’, knows to come to you if she needs something”

“Thanks Cal, but we both know I’m not the nicest person on the planet”. Calleigh sighed wishing Speed could see himself as she knew she and everyone who loved him did. She gave up knowing now was not the time

“All right, how about I keep an eye on…”

“Hey been looking for you man”, Eric said then ducked his head when he realised he’d interrupted a private conversation. “Sorry I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine kid. You want something?”, Speed asked and he nodded

“Natalia said something about some vomit?”, he asked with a grin glad he wasn’t anywhere near Speed’s case

“You know I do technically have seniority in this place and I could technically have you assigned to me if I wanted to”, Speed retorted

“Hey c’mon no fair”, Eric protested. “Although ours”, he said pointing to Calleigh and himself, “Involves animal hide and sulfuric acid so have at it”. Speed’s sour look had him laughing

“Cal wait”. Eric stopped her from leaving when she meant to follow Speed. Stupid conscience he thought, he already lied to her too much as far as he was concerned about his personal life and… “Listen before when I was on the phone, you asked me who I was talking to, it’s my father Sharova”

Calleigh reacted just as he expected her to. “I just want you to please be careful, ok. He is connected to so many dangerous people”

“You ok?”

“Someone should ban that question in this place”, Eric snapped then sighed. “Cal told you didn’t she. Before you bite my head off, it was Sharova”

“Ok”, Speed gave in looking at Eric like he might explode any second and the Cuban rolled his eyes. He chuckled. “C’mon”, he said swinging a hand over Eric’s shoulder. “Let’s go grab…” The gunshot stopped his sentence and they both ran to the morgue 

“Kyle”, Eric yelled trying to go to the young man but was stopped in his tracks when Julia pointed the gun at him. “Julia don’t do this”, he said not bothering to pull out his own weapon. Both Ryan and Speed were armed and one more gun would make things worse not better.

Julia ignored him. “Kyle c’mon let’s go”, she said but Kyle shook his head

“Mom please listen to me. This is not the way ok. Eric’s just trying to…” Saying Eric’s name turned to be the exact wrong thing to do

“No, he’s trying to take you away from me just like John”. And suddenly Eric knew Horatio’s concerns had been valid. If she was referring to his redhead as John again… “I know what he’s doing Kyle. Introducing you to his family. He’s trying to get someone else to replace me as your mother”

“Julia listen to me”, Eric said inching closer to Kyle. “All I wanted, all Horatio wants is for Kyle to be happy. Kyle, he met my parents by accident. There is no plan, no nothing. We all know you’re his mother Julia and we’re not trying to take him away from you, but if you do this today, if you hurt anyone now… well you’ll go to prison and that will separate the two of you”. She was already in a lot of trouble for pulling out a gun in the morgue and threatening to shoot cops but Eric would cross that bridge when he came to it

“Kyle are you coming with me or not”

“Mom I’ll do whatever you want but just put the gun down before that”

“Julia”. Horatio’s arrival had Eric breathing a huge sigh of relief. “Julia please put the gun down”, he said softly his own weapon pointed at her

“John”, Julia said not bothering to turn around. “I just want my son. I need him to come back with me”

“That’s not gonna happen Julia. Kyle’s his own person now and you need to let him go”

“He’s my son John and he’s all I have and I won’t let you take him away from me”

“No one is taking Kyle away from you. He still loves you. He is just living the life he is meant to that’s all”

“You mean the life you chose for him”, Julia said at last diverting her attention from Kyle and Eric reached the young blond in two strides

“You ok?”, he asked the man who while exactly not his stepson had become as close to him as a younger brother could. “You sure”

“Yeah just… don’t let anyone hurt her”, Kyle whispered

“Horatio’s not gonna let that happen”, Eric said much more confidently than he felt. His words were contradicted when Julia placed the gun to own her head. Eric’s shout of “No”, was drowned out by Kyle’s “Mom”

“Kid stay back”, Speed warned knowing neither of them were armed. “Keep Kyle back”. He stepped in front of the Cuban

“Julia listen to me. Please do not do this. Do you really want Kyle to see you like this?”, Horatio asked maintaining his calm front

Julia’s eyes were fixed on her son again. “I’m sorry Kyle”, she said taking the safety off

“Julia listen to me, please listen”, Horatio said holstering his own weapon and stepping in front of her. “Stand down gentlemen”, he ordered Ryan and Speed

“Horatio”, Speed protested

“Now”, Horatio said with one backward glance and that was enough. Even if Speed was reluctant he followed his boss’ instructions. “Julia listen to me. I was wrong. I now know you did not steal the meds”. Speed’s eyes went to Tara Price and her suddenly pale face. “I know I caused all of this with my judgement of you that day but I promise you now that if you put that gun down I will do everything I can to fix this”

“The great Horatio Caine to the rescue is that it?”, Julia asked tears in her eyes. “You didn’t believe me then John, you didn’t believe me when I told you Ron hurt me. You did nothing. And you didn’t believe me when I told you I didn’t try to kill Ron”

“I know Julia”, Horatio agreed. “I know this is all my fault. All I am asking for is a chance to help you. If you do this now Kyle will be hurt and I am begging you to please not do that to our son”

“Our son?”

“Yes Julia, he is still our son. I promise. Kyle is still your son and no one will take him away from you. I don’t want that Julia. So please, please put the gun down. I promise you will get the help you need and you will be able to see Kyle”

Kyle broke away from Eric’s grip despite his and Speed’s objections and went to stand beside Horatio. “Mom please, please do as dad says. Please”

“Damn you John”, Julia cursed but she did lower her gun.

“Mr. Wolfe”, Horatio ordered pulling Kyle into his arms. Ryan understood, cuffed her and read her her rights. “Eric”. Eric was by his side in a second. “Please… please… get Kyle to my office. Kyle, I’m not… I’m not going to let your mother go to prison. What happened to you is not going to happen to her”, he promised the blond who looked reluctant but nodded anyway

“C’mon”, Eric said dragging Kyle away

“Speed. I… I need to talk to… talk to an attorney and…”

“I can do that”, Speed offered concerned at Horatio’s defeated demeanour. “I can handle this H”

“No Speed. I… I got her into this. I need to get her out of this”. Speed wanted to object but knew his friend wouldn’t listen. “Contact Ric. I think you understand the situation now. We need to involve IAB. Talk to Ryan and handle this”, he said making sure Tara couldn’t hear him. He wasn’t sure the M.E. would run but didn’t want to take the chance. He didn’t trust his own judgement at the moment

“I’ve got this. Go be with your family. Take care of them”, Speed said and he nodded

He met Calleigh four floors above at CSI. “Tim”, she said rushing to him her concern obvious. “I just heard. You ok?” He managed a nod but his actions spoke louder as he grasped her hands in his and she knew he was more shaken up than he let on. He abhorred public displays of affection more than her. “What happened?”, she asked and he shook his head

“I… I gotta go do this thing for Horatio. I… Give me a few. Then we can get out of here. I don’t think I can concentrate on evidence now”

“Ok”, she said with a small smile

He waited for Stetler to arrive then bolted. He didn’t want to see Tara arrested… didn’t want to see the humiliation when IAB had to get involved with another incident in the lab; an incident he should have never let get this big. And now not only was all of the M.E’s cases going to be reviewed an insult to an office Alexx had left with so much dignity but Julia’s life was effectively destroyed

“I heard what happened”, Calleigh said as she joined him at the bar near CSI a half-hour later. “And I’ll tell you the same thing you probably told Horatio. This isn’t on you. Tara did what she did”

Speed a drink already in hand didn’t even seem to hear her. “I’m not arrogant enough to assume responsibility for the whole thing Cal”, he said when she had given up on an answer. “But…”

“Ryan came to you”, she said turning her head away knowing he was going to blame himself for this no matter her words

“I destroyed… I destroyed the lab’s credibility by doing nothing. I stood by Cal. I keep saying… maybe I said it too often that I started believing it. Maybe the lab means nothing to me after all”

“That’s not true and you know it”

“Isn’t it?”, he asked her vehemently startling the waitress who had come by to take Calleigh’s order. He sat back his agitation plain

Calleigh ordered her coffee with a reassuring smile before she turned her attention to her boyfriend again. “You can’t change what happened Tim, maybe… and I don’t believe this but maybe for argument’s sakes let’s say you could have reported Tara, then what? IAB would have still gotten involved”. She covered his hand with her own. “You did everything you could Tim. You went to Horatio. And what Julia did today, you couldn’t have predicted that. No one could have. Not even Horatio knew”

“This isn’t his fault Cal”, Speed defended his boss. “Horatio he can’t be everywhere. That’s why he depends on us. On me”

“And he still did that. Even today. He still looked to you for assistance Tim. And I’m saying exactly what you did. There is nothing anyone could have done to stop all of this”

“I wish I could accept that”, Speed his eyes anywhere but on Calleigh said softly

“Hey how did it go with the judge?”, Eric asked when Horatio entered the house late that night

“Where’s Kyle?”, Horatio asked in turn not willing to discuss his deal just yet

“He’s sleeping in the spare room H. The whole thing took a lot out of him. Ma brought over dinner, he ate and crashed”

“I owe Carmen”, Horatio muttered running a hand through his hair messing it up

“C’mon Horatio”, Eric said helping him out of his shirt. “Ma loves Kyle. Sees him as her grandson”. Horatio suddenly stopped his actions and faced Eric. “What?”, Eric asked worried at the look on his face

“Nothing”, Horatio said pulling him into a hug. Eric obliged by burying his face in the crook of his redhead’s neck


	23. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We fast forward to the present and Season 8 in this one. From here on the story is a complete AU. No events of S8 will be the same as what happened on the show. Not that there's much left. Only one chapter and it's an epilogue of sorts

“’Ratio”. The mumbled whisper produced a whole host of reactions. Not only did it make Travers who had been about to fall asleep jump and crash his chair it brought in Speed and Alexx who had been just outside the door to Eric’s room running

“What?”, the trace expert asked worried. “Michael what the fuck happene…?” He stopped and his eyes travelled to where Travers was pointing. The brown orbs were visible for the first time in almost seventy-two hours

“Oh honey”, Alexx said pressing the bell for the nurses’ station then smoothing his non-existent curls. “You’re ok now”

“’Ratio”, Eric repeated confused not knowing where he was. All he could see and feel was that his redhead wasn’t there.

“H just went home to get a shower and a shave. He should be here in a bit”, Speed said in a voice quite unlike his own. 

“’im”, Eric slurred. His left hand wandered and Alexx grasped it with a reproachful look at Speed who hadn’t moved from his spot near the door. He ignored her admonished “Timmy”, and bolted from there

“’im”, Eric said his confusion and pain going up. “Why?”, he asked with a swallow

“Don’t worry about it baby”, Alexx said gently. “Timmy’s just being an ass”

“I will get both him and the Lt. for you”, Travers added with a watery smile

“M’ch’l”

“Yes Eric”, Travers said one foot out the door

“S’w Mri, s’d go o’t”. His eyes closed before Travers’ head could snap back

“He couldn’t have… he couldn’t have meant what he said. It was probably the sedatives yes?”, Travers asked Alexx white-faced. Alexx could only stare

For someone considered unshakeable to the outside world, Horatio reflected on the tremors his love for Eric brought him. But as his shivering hands failed to twist the knob to open the door to his husband’s room, he also knew he wouldn’t trade the life he had for anything anyone could offer

“Here let me”, Calleigh said quite unlike herself pushing past him impatiently. Taking a deep breath she grabbed Speed’s arm and literally marched him inside whilst Tripp did the same with him. They found Natalia, Wolfe, Travers, Alexx, Kyle and the Delko family – at least it was only the immediate family minus the kids - waiting for them

“Lab’s closer than your place boss”, Ryan said in explanation at Horatio’s surprised look

“Well, I’m pretty sure there’s some hospital regulation about the number of people in a room…”

“Or the laws of physics”, Speed muttered because the room should not have been able to hold them all

Alexx glared at the interruption. “So why don’t we let Horatio…”. The brown orbs opened again before she could finish. Eric’s eyes fell first on his redhead and his smile was wide. Tired – not surprising considering what he had been through – he closed them again before he searched for the rest of them. Speed who was on the other side of the bed squeezed his hand

“Sorry about earlier”, he said but Eric ignored it

“H’r n’w”, he slurred. “Evry’n”, he realised as his eyes wandered around the room

“Yes pal everyone”, Horatio said softly not bothering to hide the love he felt for his husband anymore. Eric’s eyes widened then went to his ring finger. “I kinda outed us when you went missing”, his redhead admitted and he couldn’t help but chuckle

“Sp’d ows me h’ndr’d b’cks”

“Should’ve bet against you”, Speed said with a mock-glare at Horatio but even he couldn’t maintain his grumpy façade for long. “You… you get some rest and listen to everything Alexx and the doctors tell you”, he added to his friend who groaned

“M’th’r h’n”

The next time he woke up it was just his parents. “H?”, he asked. 

“Sent him home”, his dad said about to press the button for the nurses’ station but he shook his head.

“’M k”, he murmured. “Sh’d go h’me”, he said indicating his parents who rolled their eyes

“There is no way you will be left alone in this room Eric”, his mother said firmly and he gave up. Alexx chose that moment to enter and he became frustrated

“’M fn”

“I know you are baby”, she said quickly not wanting to upset him. “Just wanted to check in on you before I left”

“S’ry”, he apologised. “J’st trd”

“I know honey. But you will be out of here sooner than you think this time and no that is not encouragement”. He chuckled and the sound brightened all of their faces

“Wh’t hapn’d?”, he asked coherent enough for the first time since his surgery and the smiles disappeared

“Just an accident baby”, Alexx said carefully. “How about I explain this later? When your morphine levels are down”. A flash of panic ran through him at her words. He distinctly remembered having done something like this before only he had been shot then but this time…

“Sh’t?”, he asked recalling the sound of gunfire…. And Calleigh’s panicked face. “Calleigh”, he said sitting up and almost screaming in pain. But he had bigger concerns than his head. “Ht her”

“No Eric. You did not. Calleigh is fine. She was here earlier”, his father said. “Eric lie back down. Calleigh is fine and I will call her now if you wish but you need to calm down”

The situation worsened when the door to his room was pushed open. “Stetler”, Alexx said her tone biting. “What the hell are you doing here because I distinctly remember Horatio telling you, you couldn’t interview Eric without my consent”

“Dr. Woods”, Stetler said with a nod of his head his tone mocking. “Unfortunately IAB does not run according to the wishes of Lt. Caine”

“Yeah well, Eric still has rights and as his doctor I’m telling you he’s not ready for an interview. So I’d…”. She was interrupted when one of Stetler’s men tried to manhandle her out of the room.

“You l’v hr th’ f’ck al’ne”, Eric said his anger giving him the strength to sit up again. “Nt l’gl”

“Oh I don’t need lessons on law from someone who broke it”, Stetler retorted

The gun cocked from behind them and Eric’s eyes widened in surprise. “Release her or I’ll blow your head clean off”, Speed growled. “And believe me this bullet’ll fire”. The IAB agent whose hands had been on Alexx quickly let her go. One look at Speed’s face had told him the trace expert would follow through on his threat. Speed didn’t holster his gun, he didn’t even lower it. “Out. Now”, he snarled at Stetler’s minions. If Eric was important to him, his love for Alexx transcended even that. She was his mother in every way that counted. The two men scrambled for cover not even bothering to check with their supervisor. Speed turned to Stetler next “You. You got absolutely no legal ground to stand in this room. You’re invading a private space and you’re threatening my friends. Now give me one good reason I can’t justifiably shoot you”

“Tim”, Carmen said just worried as Alexx. “Don’t do this son”. Speed ignored her

“Carmen’s right Timmy. I’m fine and so’s Eric. We’ll let Horatio deal with Stetler ok baby”, she said softly her hand on his arm and that had him finally backing off

“You’re lucky I’m not arresting you for…”. The fist came up faster than the gun had and Stetler found himself bleeding from the nose

“Oops”, Speed said unrepentantly. “Go ahead and suspend me. I don’t give a fuck. Now get out”. Stetler did after a furious look that promised repercussions. “That fucking hurt”, Speed said massaging his knuckles. “What he was annoying me”. Eric couldn’t help but chuckle

“H’s g’na k’ll you”, he muttered

“Yeah well I’ll just remind him off all the times he’s been stupid and I got more blackmail material on him than you ever will”

Pavel’s smile was fond but both Carmen and Alexx looked angry. “You close your mouth or I’ll dose you with morphine”, Alexx snapped at Eric who made a I’m zipping my lips motion his smile still wide. “And you”, she said rounding on Speed

“What were you thinking?”, Carmen said then slipped into Spanish while Speed tried to make himself look penitent

“Oh for fuck’s sake”. The cussing from Horatio of all people stopped both women’s tirade. “Yes I know what happened. No Stetler will not file charges. Now can we all leave while he’s still sleeping”, he said pointing to Eric who seemed to have succumbed to his meds again

Alexx sighed. “Horatio honey, Timmy just…”

“I know Alexx”, Horatio interrupted. “And believe me I wish I could suspend him but I promised my husband a sabbatical and I don’t intend to break it so”. But he was grinning and Speed knew his boss wasn’t really angry

Then the rest of what Horatio said penetrated. “Wait sabbatical. But that means… No fucking way. I’m gonna make sure Stetler fires me before you make me run the lab”

“On second thought”, Alexx said grinning at Speed’s white face. “I can’t think of a better punishment”

“L’ne at l’st”, Eric muttered as his groggy eyes fell on Horatio who sat in a chair beside the bed with what looked like a file in his hand

“Eric”, Horatio said with a smile. “Alexx said you might be waking up. I’m to call…”

“No”, Eric said reaching for him. Horatio smiled again and grasped his hands but Eric went further and pulled him closer. It felt like he was kissing the love of his life after years instead of days. “Wh’n l’st?”, he asked seriously and Horatio couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Not that too long pal. About four days”

“Too l’ng”, Eric muttered kissing him again and as far as he was concerned it was

“I need to call Alexx”, Horatio said in a whisper as he gently caressed Eric’s cheek. But he also didn’t resist when Eric asked for another kiss. He hadn’t thought he could have this again. “I love you”, he said suddenly remembering his promise to himself. “I love you so much and I have been an idiot…”. He stopped when Eric covered the redhead’s mouth with his hand.

“Ad’p’t’n cn’t’r. Wt’r’ss k’ds”.

“You remember that?”, Horatio asked and he nodded then winced.

“Stpd”

“I’m calling Alexx”, Horatio said firmly and he groaned

“Where the hell have you guys been?”, a bouncy Eric asked them a week later as Horatio and Speed entered his hospital room. “And where the hell are my clothes?”

“What clothes?”, Speed asked him hiding his amusement. “And what are you wearing?”

“Doctor’s scrubs. Had Alexx borrow some. Now where are my clothes?” His eyes went to his redhead who smiled. “Horatio”, he warned the older man who sat down beside him

“Why don’t we wait for Alexx to…”. Eric showed him the documents before he could finish

“She already gave me my discharge papers. She said she’d get Speedle the meds”, he added with a sour look on his face. “Now where are my clothes?”, he asked with that smile Horatio found irresistible as he leaned in for a kiss

“Hey”, Speed protested. “I’m still here”

“And I give a damn because?”, Eric asked him before Horatio could respond

“Cos I’m still here”

“Yeah but everyone knows about us”, Eric countered with a grin as he kissed Horatio again. “I was only holding back cos I was afraid I’d slip up in front of others. But now that we’re out I can do this whenever I want”

“Not at the lab”, Horatio protested

“Yeah ok, but everywhere else and you’re fair game”, Eric said making Speed laugh and Horatio blush

“Wanna tell me what happened?”, Eric asked Horatio as they settled down for the night

“You… um… you never told me what you remembered love”, Horatio stalled. In reality he didn’t think he wanted to recall the few hours… hell days when he had believed Eric to be lost forever. Eric stared at him for a minute before he rested his head on his pillow. 

“Not much… just… just fragments. I know Calleigh shot at me but apart from that… She… she’s the only one who hasn’t been to see me. Is she mad at me?”, Eric asked tentatively and Horatio sighed

“No love. IAB sent her an official request asking her not to speak to you”

That had Eric sitting up. “What? Why?”

“You… um… you were… you were at the armoury to get Sharova out love. He’d become involved with the Russians again and…”

Eric looked horrified. “Did I… did I just… did I destroy the lab because of this Horatio”

“What no”, Horatio said. “I sent you there Eric. You kept me informed every step of the way. Sharova finally agreed to turn state’s evidence but… Yelina’s life was in danger and I had to make a choice”. Horatio definitely wasn’t meeting his eyes now. “I… I tried to send Speed to you but by then… I am sorry love. I…”. Eric cut him off with a quick kiss a small smile on his face

“We both know I’d have asked you to go to her H. You had Ray Jr. to think about and I’m done with my stupid jealous act. Almost dying… again… well it gives you a new perspective and… I promised myself… I mean I know I was probably hallucinating and all given the meds but Marisol was there” – Horatio looked surprised and glad Eric realised – “And she… she gave me a kick up the ass I needed Horatio and… I love you H”, he said taking Horatio’s hand in his. “And I know you love me… very much and… I promise I’m never gonna…” – he shook his head. “I promise I will try to think before I get mad”

“Probably the best I can hope for”, Horatio teased and he pouted

“Michael”. Travers who had become too good at avoiding Eric the last few days since he’d woken up groaned

“Didn’t IAB want to see you”

“Seriously”, Eric asked with a chuckle. “You’re willing to throw me under the bus just to avoid this conversation”

Travers looked guilty knowing he wasn’t being fair. “Fine”, he gave in. “However could you…”

“Yo Travers, I need your help with… Oh sorry, didn’t know you were busy”, a tall big guy Eric had never seen before said. Travers performed the introductions and Eric learned that this was Walter Simmons the CSI from nights Horatio had mentioned. Simmons looked the slightest bit uncomfortable at his name and Eric wondered just what rumors were circulating about him

“Kid, out”, Speed ordered and a distracted Eric looked up

“Out where?”

“Stetler. He’s raising hell so out”. 

Eric glared at Travers. “Not going away any time soon Michael. You might as well accept that”

It seemed like it took hours before Stetler accepted his version of the events. Eric had been very clear to his redhead. Horatio was not going to get involved in his interrogation – his words the others had called it a witch hunt – and if Stetler charged him then Eric would find himself a lawyer

He wasn’t too surprised to find Horatio and Speed waiting for him outside the door to the interrogation room. “Well?”, the trace expert asked impatiently as Eric rolled the tension out of his neck. He was simply exhausted beyond measure

“Won’t know for a while”, he muttered. “I’m going home”, he added to Horatio who nodded

“Want me to…?”

“No H. I’ll be fine I…” He stopped when Calleigh waved to him from the other side of the hall. “I guess I’m not going home yet. I’ll see you guys in a bit”

“Thank God”, Speed muttered. “What we both know kid’s been worried about Cal and not being able to talk to her”, he said when Horatio shot him a look

“You ok?”, Horatio asked. “Tim, tell me you guys aren’t…”

“No”, Speed said suddenly just as tired as Eric. “I mean… we’re still…”. He ran a hand through his hair. “You know what we’ll work it out H. Now that Calleigh knows the truth… We’ll be fine”. He clapped Horatio on the shoulder and went to the elevators that led to the lab

“How mad are you?” Calleigh wasn’t too surprised at the question from her Cuban friend. After all as everyone at P.D. knew Eric wasn’t the most patient person on the planet

Giving herself time to organise her thoughts she played with the stirrer in her coffee cup. “I’m not mad”, she said at last but it was clear Eric didn’t believe her. “Upset a bit and disappointed but not mad. Not with you Eric”, she added quickly

“But you are mad at Tim”, Eric said head bowed his eyes on his own cup. “Wasn’t his fault Cal. I made him promise”

“No you didn’t”, Calleigh said. “He chose to keep your confidence. You didn’t have to force him into it”. Eric winced because he knew she was right. And lying to her and worse getting caught wasn’t going to help anyone. “Look Eric everyone at CSI knows Tim loves you. You’re his kid brother. I mean he always stands up for you”. Eric recalling the incident after his return to CSI where he had made an error with the phenolphthalein test winced again. From what he’d heard – and this was second-hand information from Wolfe and Natalia - Speed had been furious with Calleigh because she had undermined – according to him – the Cuban’s confidence. When Eric had tried to talk to him he had brushed it off saying his discussions with the ballistics expert were lab business. Eric had tried to apologise to Calleigh but she had pretended she didn’t know what he was talking about and he’d been forced to give up

“It’s not… I don’t want… Look Cal I know I don’t… I don’t have a right to interfere with your relationship but… Speed didn’t hide this from you because he didn’t trust you. He hid it cos he knew I didn’t want anyone to know. I… I didn’t want Horatio hurt Cal and he would have been. If anyone had known Horatio was with me… he would have become a target for IAB”

“I get it Eric. I know it’s easy for people to slip up”. His face tightened and she sighed and grasped his hand. “You know I don’t blame you for what happened with Jake right?”. Eric’s nod was tense. Even if Calleigh didn’t it was obvious he still blamed himself

“I was scared”, he said at last going for the truth. “Horatio was… is the best thing that happened to me and I… I was so stupid Cal. I got jealous all the time. Hell I even… I’d accuse him of…”. He shook his head. “How much did Speed tell you?”, he asked her

“Not a lot. He said you guys got together after Humphries death and that you were married a few months ago. And oh”, she added and Eric knew from the look on her face that whatever she had would embarrass the crap out of him. “And that Tripp found out when he caught you in the act”. He was right he realised and turned a shade of red a tomato would have been proud of

“Cal”, he whined. Tripp still teased him about that day when he had a shot of whiskey too many. “You know, no one apart from my family and Kyle knew right?”, he asked her suddenly serious. “I mean… I told Tim but… I told him before H and… I…”

“You don’t have to explain Eric”, she said when he trailed off. 

His phone rang and he answered it warily before his face shifted into a relieved smile. “I’ve been cleared to go back to CSI”, he said when he hung up and Calleigh smiled.

“That’s wonderful news Eric”

“Yes it is”, Eric said but privately didn’t feel as happy as Calleigh

“Alex”, Eric greeted his birth father with a smile when the former member of the Russian mob was brought out of his cell and into the visiting area. “I’m glad to see you’re ok”

“I am as well Eric”, Sharova said. “I was worried when your Lt…. But you are ok now”

“I’m fine Alex. I’m actually great… I… I got shot a couple of years ago and the bullet fragment in my brain. They removed it now so…” Eric looked down suddenly tongue-tied. Even if he knew Sharova was a bad guy it still stung to see his birth father in an orange jumpsuit

“Actions have consequences child”, Sharova said gently. “And your Lt. He has arranged for me to turn state’s evidence. He has kept me safe in here and I will be… I will be testifying soon”

Eric nodded. Horatio had explained all this to him and told him that they would be moving Sharova into the witness protection program soon. 

His eyes filled unexpectedly. 

When he had gone searching for the truth after he’d been shot he’d never imagined that he’d actually meet his birth parents. He had always thought his parents had adopted him because they had wanted a son. Then he had discovered his mother’s infidelity and that his father was actually a member of the Russian mob and had been quite prepared to hate him especially when not just his life but his entire team was put in danger. Never had he in his wildest dreams thought Sharova would become someone with whom he would not just form a relationship but would also miss when he left

‘He was a bad man’

‘It was a mistake Eric’

“I… I’m glad I’m your son Alex”, he said suddenly. “I don’t think, I don’t think I’ve ever told you that but… I am glad I got to know you”

Sharova turned away his emotions of shock and joy plain, tears in his eyes as well. “Thank you Eric. This is… this is literally the biggest gift. Thank you son”

“What are you doing here?”, he asked his redhead with a laugh as he rushed into Horatio’s arms. The hug felt good and he had to admit he’d needed that. 

“I had Speed take your car back”, Horatio admitted not letting him go yet. “We… um… I have the day off”

“You what?”, Eric asked shocked. “You never take days off”

“I do today. C’mon”, he said tugging Eric in the direction of his Hummer. “We have some place to be”

They ended up at the beach he loved. Sitting in the sand and staring at the water, Eric told him about his meeting with Sharova. “I… I told him I was glad to be his son. I mean… you know I love Pavel, H… He’s my dad but… but Sharova wasn’t…”

“I get it Eric”, Horatio said softly. “Now this might be lousy timing”, he added and wanting nothing other than Eric’s sad face to go away handed him a document

Eric laughed as Horatio had expected him to. “Seriously. A cruise around the world?”

“I thought you might enjoy it”, he said slightly defensively and Eric suddenly fell in love with him all over again

Leaning forward and not minding one bit that they were out in the open he kissed Horatio gently. “No”, he said when they broke apart. “While I want nothing more than to spend more time with you, as in just you and me where I can ravish you” – and that had Horatio turning redder than his hair – “I want us to be here in Miami. You promised to take me to New York. You also promised me a sabbatical”

“You’re going on your sabbatical a week from tomorrow”, Horatio reminded him. “I have a new CSI…. Well technically former CSI coming back in. Jesse Cardoza. Speed and Calleigh know him. And I’ll be leaving the week after that”

“You’re gonna make Speed run the lab aren’t you”, he asked with a wide grin. 

“Calleigh’s promised to help him. But yes”

“You’re evil H”, Eric said laughing. “But that’s why I love you”, he added kissing him again

“Five more days”, Eric muttered under his breath the next morning. He winced when the pale arms wrapped around his waist. “You heard that”

“I don’t blame you for wanting a break Eric”, Horatio said with a chuckle as he snatched the keys. “Since we are out why don’t we drive together?”

“And shock everyone at P.D. Yeah why not?”, Eric asked with a small laugh

They’d be the ones shocked by Tripp’s call. “He’s given you five minutes Horatio. If not he says he’ll start shooting”

“I’m on my way Frank”, Horatio said grimly as Eric turned the sirens on and drove like a maniac

Horatio answered the call with five seconds left even as Eric searched for… He let out a relieved breath when his eyes fell on Speed and Calleigh. His heart rate rose again at the grim expression. “Travers is one of the hostages”

And his heart stopped completely


End file.
